Tom Rutledge, Cablevision's former chief operating officer who left the company to take over as chief executive of the St. Louis-based Charter Communications, now ranks as one of the highest-paid media executives.
Rutledge, 59, earned total compensation of $23.19 million for 2011, more than twice that of his former boss, James Dolan, who earned total compensation of $11.45 million last year, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Rutledge's compensation from Cablevision included $1.74 million in base salary and more than $12 million in retirement benefits.
As CEO of Charter, Rutledge will earn $2 million in base salary and a grant of $32 million in restricted stock.
To put his earnings into further context: Time Warner CEO Glenn Britt earned total compensation of $16.43 million for 2011, down from $13.44 million a year earlier.
Rutledge joined Charter, the country's fourth-largest cable operator, in December replacing the company's interim CEO Mike Lovett, who took over after former CEO Neil Smit left to run Comcast's cable business in January 2010.
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(Source: Glassdoor.com)
