Bad year? Not for Ray Irani

The CEO of L.A.-based Occidental Petroleum, always among the nation's highest-paid executives, received $31.4 million in total compensation last year, a 40 percent increase over 2008. Much of that bump comes from Occidental stock (shares were up 36 percent in 2009). Over the years, Irani has been criticized for his supersized payouts - so much so that the company finally agreed to give shareholders a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation decisions, starting with this May's annual meeting. That'll get 'em shaking.