Costco's board says it thinks Sinegal is underpaid compared with his peers, but he has asked to stay that way. He told the board that higher pay "wouldn't change his motivation." Meanwhile, the company brags that it retains workers, not only in the executive suites but also in the warehouses, for decades.
If more companies paid their top dogs like Costco pays Sinegal, legislative limits on pay wouldn't be necessary. As things stand, everyone from the investor on the street to the Council of Institutional Investors is calling for pay curbs and "clawbacks," which are aimed at recovering past bonuses when it appears that they were based on bogus earnings.
