Bear Stearns' executive pay - Plaza/Pitchforks edition

By now, everyone's seen this grim number (h/t BondDad):

Pushed to the brink of collapse by the mortgage crisis, Bear Stearns Cos. agreed -- after prodding by the federal government -- to be sold to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. for the fire-sale price of #2 a share in stock, or about $236 million.

Put it together with this from Friday's NYT's 'Street Scene' page, and it's a rallying cry for pitchforks and torches down at the Plaza Hotel:

Bear's Den

Shares of Bear Stearns may be sinking, but the firm's chairman just put the finishing touches on a high-flying real estate deal.  The chairman, James E. Cayne, paid $25.8 million...

Lessee... where were we?  

The chairman, James E. Cayne, paid $25.8 million, city records show, for a 14th-floor apartment in the Plaza, the storied New York hotel recently converted into high-end condominiums.  Last month, Mr. Cayne closed on a much more modestly priced apartment on the same floor of the Plaza, for which he paid $2.4 million.  Together, the units cost Mr. Cayne and his wife, Patricia, more than $28 million, according to city records.

Bear has been hit hard by the mortgage debacle but mortgages apparently weren't a problem for Mr. Cayne: City records show he didn't take one.  --Peter Edmonston

Shareholders and employees should all be tickled to know that Cayne was well-compensated for his actions to guarantee Bear Stearns' success and could spend 12% (actually 11.8%, but who niggles about $472,000 on a day like today?) of the company value to ride out this financial storm.  Tickled to the point of pitchforks and torches.  

note: I can't find the NYT quote online, but I'm staring at the newsprint version:  March 14, 2008, Page C6, left column of 'Dealbook Extra', bottom of the page.