Executive pay in the US has gotten out of hand. Just because you run a company doesn't mean you should be super rich.
The Ratio of Average CEO compensation and Worker Pay in the US 1965-2005
2005 - 262:1 (Av. CEO-$10,982,000/Av. Worker- $41,861)
2004 - 238:1
2003 - 181:1
2002 - 143:1
2000 - 300:1
1989 - 71:1
1978 - 35:1
1965 - 24:1
Source: Mercer Survey of 350 large industrial and service firms conducted for the Wall Street Journal
The common practice is for compensation committees of large companies to set the pay ranges for their execs at the 75th percentile of similar companies. This "Lake Wobegone" affect ensures rapidly increasing pay scales for Execs.
This should be regulated. No one is worth 100s of times the average worker. And the compensation should be based on results.