Page 25 - ATD 27MAY2017

BUSINESS Saturday 27 May 2017
A25

Hard Rock charts different path for Trump’s former casino

By WAYNE PARRY arm of the Seminole Indian Trump once described as a contract with the union. of money we’re going to
Associated Press tribe of Florida, is working “the eighth wonder of the Hard Rock soon will an- have to spend to remove
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — on a remake of the for- world.” nounce a partnership to all those minarets and all
Jim Allen once worked for mer Trump Taj Mahal ca- The company is upping its offer internet gambling in that purple. Jesus! What
Donald Trump in Atlantic sino, which the company investment in the former Taj multiple jurisdictions, in- were we thinking?”
City. Now, the chairman of bought in March for $50 Mahal from $350 million to cluding, eventually, New When the casino opens in
Hard Rock International is million, for about 4 cents on $500 million. Allen has al- Jersey. And then there’s summer 2018, it will bear
doing all he can to scrub the dollar from the $1.2 bil- ready met with the casino the de-Trumpification the the signature Hard Rock
the influence of the man lion Trump spent to open it workers’ union whose strike place needs. logo and its ubiquitous
who is now president of the in 1990. last year prompted billion- “It’s everywhere,” Allen guitars, and the dozens of
United States from his signa- This week, Allen revealed aire Carl Icahn to shut the said of Trump’s influence on domes, minarets and other
ture casino. more details about Hard casino down in October, the Indian palace-themed Trump-style flourishes will be
Hard Rock, the gambling Rock’s plans for what and Allen promises to sign Taj Mahal. “The amount long gone.q
CEO pay by the numbers: How big were last year’s raises?

By The Associated Press top-paid CEO last year was typical male CEO made,
The typical big-company Thomas Rutledge of Char- though the 9 percent raise
CEO raked in $11.5 million ter Communications, at $98 was the same.
last year in salary, stock million. The vast majority of But the number of women
and other compensation, that came from stock and in the top CEO roles has
according to a study by ex- option awards included as barely budged. Just 6 per-
ecutive data firm Equilar for part of a new five-year em- cent of the CEOs in the sur-
The Associated Press. That’s ployment agreement, and vey were women, a slight
an 8.5 percent raise from a Charter’s stock will need increase from about 5 per-
year earlier, the biggest in to more than double for cent in 2015 and 2014.
three years. Rutledge to collect the full The highest-paid woman
The bump reflects how well amount. last year was Virginia Rom-
stocks have done under No. 2 on the compensa- etty of IBM, bumping out
these CEOs’ watch. Boards tion list last year was Les- Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer
of directors increasingly re- lie Moonves of CBS, who This photo combo of file images shows Charter Communications from the top spot.
quire that CEOs push their earned $68.6 million. No. 3 CEO Thomas Rutledge, left, and IBM CEO Virginia Rometty. Rut- HEALTH CARE AGAIN HELPS
stock price higher to col- was Walt Disney’s Robert ledge was the highest paid CEO in 2016, and Rometty was the LEAD THE WAY: Pay checks
lect their maximum possible Iger, who made $41 million. highest paid female CEO, according to a study carried out by have remained healthy for
payout, and the Standard The media business is full executive compensation data firm Equilar and The Associated executives in the health
Press.
& Poor’s 500 index returned of big paychecks, where (AP Photo/Richard Drew) care industry. A year after
12 percent last year. actors and other employ-
Over the last five years, me- ees far from the executive top executives’ earnings. 60 percent of voting shares earning the highest com-
dian CEO pay in the survey suites can make millions of At Exelon, for example, the saying no or abstaining. The pensation of any indus-
has jumped by 19.6 per- dollars, and the industry’s majority of voting shares company made changes try, health care remained
cent, not accounting for in- CEOs have traditionally were against how much to its compensation pro- close to the top in 2016.
flation. That’s nearly double pulled down some of the executives made in 2015, gram and cut a 2016 incen- The typical health care
the 10.9 percent rise in the country’s biggest pack- particularly when the stock tive award by $2.4 million CEO made $12.9 million, a
typical weekly paycheck ages. lost 22 percent that year. to $950,000 for CEO James touch below the $13.2 mil-
for full-time employees NAY ON PAY: CEO pay did Following the vote, Exelon Verrier. His total compensa- lion made by their counter-
across the country. fall for one group of com- made several changes, in- tion dropped 29 percent to parts in industrial goods.
Here are some other high- panies last year: those cluding capping how much $12.3 million last year. The least highly paid CEOs
lights from the AP’s annual where investors com- executives can receive in WOMEN MAKE BIGGER last year came from the
package of stories on CEO plained the loudest about incentive payments if the BUCKS, BUT THEY STILL HAVE utility industry, with median
pay, which was published executive pay. Compen- stock loses money over the SMALLER REPRESENTATION: pay of $9.7 million.
this past week. To see sation dropped for nine of year. The median pay for a fe- HOW THE NUMBERS WERE
the full roundup, please the 10 companies scoring Auto supplier BorgWarner male CEO was $13.1 mil- CALCULATED: Equilar ex-
visit apnews.com/tag/ the lowest on “Say on Pay” had last year’s second-low- lion last year, up 9 percent amined the regulatory fil-
SpecialReport:CEOpay votes, where shareholders est passing rate in the sur- from 2015. That’s more than ings detailing the pay pack-
THE TOP OF THE CHARTS: The give thumbs up or down on vey on “Say on Pay,” with the $11.4 million that the ages of 346 executives.q
US growth in Jan.-March upgraded to still-slow 1.2 pct. rate

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER its initial estimate of a 0.7 mated that growth in the ited spending on utilities. Gus Faucher, chief econo-
AP Economics Writer percent rate but far below current April-June quarter Friday’s upgraded esti- mist at PNC. After the ex-
WASHINGTON (AP) — The President Donald Trump’s is rebounding to an annual mate of first-quarter growth pected rebound this spring,
U.S. economy began 2017 growth targets, which most rate above 3 percent. They “doesn’t alter the fact that though, analysts gener-
with a whimper — though economists consider unre- envision stronger consumer it was another disappoint- ally foresee growth falling
not quite as weak a whim- alistic. spending fueled by solid ing start to the year,” said back to an annual rate of
per as the government had The government’s upgrad- hiring, with unemployment Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. 2 percent to 2.5 percent in
first estimated. ed estimate of first-quarter at a decade low of 4.4 per- economist at Capital Eco- the second half of the year
The gross domestic product growth reflected new- cent, and increased con- nomics. But Ashworth and — the same modest pace
— the broadest gauge of found strength in con- sumer spending. They note other analysts said they that has prevailed for near-
the economy — expanded sumer spending, business that growth in the first quar- still envision more robust ly all the eight years of this
in the January-March quar- investment and state and ter was held down by some expansion in the current economic recovery, the
ter at a 1.2 percent annual local government spend- unusual temporary factors, quarter. slowest expansion in the
rate, the government said ing. including unseasonably “Growth is bouncing back post-World War II period.q
Friday. That was better than Many analysts have esti- warm weather, which lim- in the second quarter,” said