New generation of robber barons

"CEOs can win big even when the company loses. Merck, for example, had to pull its Vioxx pain medication off the market because it increases stroke and heart attack risk, and Merck stock was down 28 percent last year, but CEO Ray Gilmartin got a supposedly performance-based bonus. His total 2004 compensation was $37.8 million and he received a new grant of 250,000 stock options." [NorthJersey.com]