Money | CEO Execs Were Paid $3B to Lay Credit Crisis Foundation Wall Street chieftains were well rewarded for risks they took in 2003-07 By Nick McMaster Posted Sep 26, 2008 5:45 PM CDT Copied Former Bear Stearns hedge fund manager Ralph Cioffi, exits Brooklyn federal court following a scheduled hearing, Friday, July 18, 2008, in New York. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano) More than $3 billion was paid to the chief executives of the five biggest financial firms on Wall Street in the run-up to the credit crisis, Bloomberg reports. While supervising bad mortgage-related credit bets that eventually brought the financial system to its knees, Merrill Lynch’s Stanley O’Neal took in $172 million in 2003-07, while Bear Stearns’ James Cayne took in $161 million. More number-crunching reveals: The $3.1 billion paid to execs was about three times the price JP Morgan paid for Bear Stearns in June. Goldman Sachs was most generous with its top players, paying out $859 million over that span. Henry Paulson was among those benefiting from Goldman largesse, taking in $111 million before becoming Treasury Secretary. Bear Stearns was next at $609 million. With $93 billion in net income, the firms’ average pay per employee was $353,089. Read These Next New Fox star, 23, misses first day after car troubles. Iran's supreme leader makes first public comments since ceasefire. Her blood isn't compatible with anyone else's. Man accused of killing his daughters might be dead. Report an error