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  3. Directors of Occidental Petroleum Corp. want to keep Chief Executive Ray R. Irani safe. So they spent $774,756 last year on home

Directors of Occidental Petroleum Corp. want to keep Chief Executive Ray R. Irani safe. So they spent $774,756 last year on home

admin2021-02-21  101
问题    Directors of Occidental Petroleum Corp. want to keep Chief Executive Ray R. Irani safe. So they spent $774,756 last year on home-alarm systems and around-the-clock security guards for the CEO. "We live in dangerous times," a company spokesman says. "Executives from oil-and-gas companies have been threatened and kidnapped."
   Directors of Valero Energy Corp., a rival oil concern with more than four times Occidental’s revenue, aren’t as worried. Their spending on security for CEO William R. Klesse last year totaled just $239 for a home-alarm monitoring service, a fringe benefit recently extended to all Valero workers. Bill Day, a spokesman, notes the company isn’t well known.
   The difference in security spending for big-company CEOs emerged in an analysis of 247 recent proxy statements for The Wall Street Journal by James F. Reda & Associates, a New York pay consultancy. The differences reflect risk assessments by outside security advisers, a CEO’s term of office and whether a company is involved in high-risk regions, experts say. The 247 companies represent the Fortune 300 companies that had filed their latest proxies at the time of the analysis.
   For the most generous boards, "it’s almost like an arms race as directors demonstrate how critical their chief executive is to the company," says Mark Borges, a pay consultant at Compensia Inc. in San Jose, Calif.
   Of the 247 proxy statements reviewed, 91 companies reported security expenses to protect their CEOs, and 56 of those specified an amount. Some companies don’t disclose a dollar figure because it is below reporting thresholds; others count security as an ordinary business expense. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) considers security at an executive’s residence or during personal travel a fringe benefit that should be disclosed if the value reaches a certain threshold.
   The biggest spender in Reda’s study was Oracle Corp. The software maker paid about $1.7 million in the year ended May 31, mainly for guards at residences of Lawrence Ellison, its billionaire CEO and founder. Board members support the expenditure because he’s so important to Oracle, according to the latest proxy statement. It also says Mr. Ellison paid to install and maintain his home-security systems. Oracle declined to comment.
   Next up was Limited Brands Inc., which spent $1.25 million in the year ended Feb. 2 to protect CEO Leslie Wexner, who founded the company in 1963. The total includes an unspecified amount for his personal use of corporate aircraft, which the company requires.
   Limited’s proxy statement lacks other details, but people familiar with the situation say the bill covers security for Mr. Wexner’s 22,371-square-foot home on a 300-acre estate in nearby New Albany, as well as for other homes and a yacht. The statement says directors approved the spending because of "the risks associated with Mr. Wexner’s role and position. "Founder CEOs often become targets of specific threats identified with their religion, an informed individual said. Mr. Wexner declined to comment.
   Such justifications for shelling out big bucks to protect corporate chiefs don’t sway some activist investors. "Security has become a convenient excuse for getting shareholders to pick up the cost for the CEO’s lifestyle," complains Richard Ferlauto, director of corporate governance and pension investment at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
   [A] says the most generous boards regard security spending as a demonstration of their CEO’s importance.
   [B] considers that security expenses should be disclosed if the value reaches a certain threshold.
   [C] made an analysis of 247 proxy statements.
   [D] earned four times more money than Occidental did.
   [E] extended home-alarm monitoring service to all its workers.
   [F] holds that justifications for the security spending for CEO don’t sway some activist investors.
   [G] says security has been an excuse for getting shareholders to pay for the CEO’s lifestyle.
Mark Borges
选项
答案A
解析 Mark Borges出现在第四段。该段提到Mark Borges说最大方的董事会借安保开支来证明CEO对公司有多重要(…demonstrate how critical their chief executive is to the company…)，A项是对该句的同义复述，其中the most generous boards为原词复现，demonstration是原文中demonstrate的词性转换，importance与文中的citical相对应，故A为正确答案。
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