In what year did Mesa's board award T. Boone Pickens an $18.6 million bonus, making him the highest paid executive in the USA?

In what year did Mesa's board award T. Boone Pickens an $18.6 million bonus, making him the highest paid executive in the USA?

• A. 1983
• B. 1984
• C. 1985
• D. 1986

Answer: (C)

This question tests knowledge of a specific historical milestone in executive compensation. In 1985, Mesa Petroleum’s board awarded T. Boone Pickens an $18.6 million bonus, a package large enough at the time to make him the highest paid executive in the United States. That year stands out because the amount was extraordinarily high for the era and drew widespread attention as a national record. The other years didn’t produce a bonus of that size or the same national ranking, so they don’t fit as the year this milestone occurred.

This question tests knowledge of a specific historical milestone in executive compensation. In 1985, Mesa Petroleum’s board awarded T. Boone Pickens an $18.6 million bonus, a package large enough at the time to make him the highest paid executive in the United States. That year stands out because the amount was extraordinarily high for the era and drew widespread attention as a national record. The other years didn’t produce a bonus of that size or the same national ranking, so they don’t fit as the year this milestone occurred.