New York Times Examines 'New Guilded Age' and Greedy Execs

Some of the billionaire CEOs and tycoons living large in today's new gilded age are smug enough to say they deserve to be paid tens – even hundreds – of millions of dollars a year. 

"I think there are people, including myself at certain times in my career who, because of their uniqueness, warrant whatever the market will bear," Leo Hindrey, Jr. told The New York Times. The private equity fund manager who created a sports TV network further likened himself to the business world's version of baseball star Derek Jeter. 

The Times, recognizing that the gulf between the rich and poor is bigger than it's been since the Great Depression, interviewed numerous CEOs for a Sunday story titled, "The Richest of the Rich, Proud of a New Gilded Age." Interviewees such as the CEO of Coach, who took home more than $44 million last year, told the Times that it's not "unreasonable" and even small next to the gain the luxury goods company has made since he took it public six years ago.

The July 15 feature is part of a series of articles in the Times examining the growing concentration of wealth in the United States. The story and a graphic of the 30 wealthiest men – and they are all men – in U.S. history can be found at www.nytimes.com/business, under "Multimedia."