A peek at the perks of the corner office

And while annual proxy statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the past provided a general snapshot of just how big those CEO salaries were, shareholders could never quite get a detailed, granular view of how much a chief executive made — until now. Under disclosure rules approved by the SEC last year, public companies must furnish many more details about compensation packages than they've ever had to divulge.

While critics say the new disclosure rules are weak when it comes to pinpointing an executive's overall stock holdings, they provide laser-like accuracy in the description of the perquisites and other benefits that executives receive. According to The Corporate Library, the amount of money paid to CEOs in the form of perks spiked 130% from 2005 to 2006.