Report: Roche, Novartis among Swiss companies with highest pay gaps June 24, 2014 | By Arlene Weintraub The salary differences between top executives and the lowest-paid employees widened at 18 large Swiss companies last year, with pharma giants Roche ($RHHBY) and Novartis ($NVS) ranking high on the list of top offenders. That's the conclusion of a new report from Travail Suisse, an organization of trade unions. The Travail Suisse report reveals that the top earners at Roche and Novartis are paid at least 200 times more than the lowest-paid employees, Bloomberg reports. That put them in the same league as Swiss giants Nestlé, UBS ($UBS) and Lindt & Spruengli when it comes to pay inequality, the report said. Executive pay has been a hot topic in Switzerland, exemplified by a 2013 brouhaha over Novartis's plan to hand outgoing chairman Daniel Vasella a $78 million non-compete agreement. Novartis aborted that plan, just in time for a Swiss vote to limit executive pay. And Swiss voters made it clear they would not tolerate so-called "fat-cat" pay packages in the future. A majority voted to outlaw signing bonuses, golden handshakes, and golden parachutes, and to give shareholders power over annual executive compensation. The CEOs of Switzerland's two largest pharma companies certainly took home rich pay packages last year. Roche's Severin Schwan earned about $13.4 million, even as the company's massive restructuring claimed 1,000 jobs. And Novartis's Joe Jimenez took home $14.2 million, as the CEO battled against a declining vaccines business, quality-control problems at a U.S. plant, and the loss of patent protection on its blockbuster blood-pressure drug Diovan.
what would they 'earn' if they did a good, honest job? either $100 mil or zero because running this business honestly (no bribes, ginned up studies etc..) they'd have 1/2 (or less) of sales :/
Wealthy people are awesome. They are educated. They work hard. They contribute to society. They pay most of the taxes, which are consumed by the takers. And did I mention... they are AWESOME!
They pay less taxes now, in proportion to their income they they have since the income tax was enacted.
