This is true in European companies as well. The top pay for Bosch, a private company, was $500,000. Now, granted he also had immense political power, and some very nice benefits, but nothing approaching $9 million, and Bosch is an extremely wealthy and successful company. Despite paying that pittance, they still have no problem attracting top talent, not only for CEO's but also for their Board of Directors and Governors, who are usually top performers at major banks and even other businesses. Schaeffler (FAG & INA Bearings) was different, it was a private company that existed solely for the enrichment of Frau Schäffler, and it showed in how the company was run (not at all philanthropic like Bosch), as well as in the morale of the employees even though both companies had a very strong heritage and reputation that the employees could be proud of. I won't say that there wasn't nepotism at Bosch, but overall a much more effectively run company, with much stronger performance and even an espirit d'corps due to the way the company was run (pay levels were similar between the 2, but benefits were somewhat better since Bosch offered (and still does) a pension on top of the 401k, and better health insurance).