FORBES’ WEALTHIEST LIST INCLUDES HIGH-TECH EXECS

Six of the nation's 10 highest-paid chief executives work for high-tech firms, according to Forbes magazine.

The magazine, in a report released Sunday, ranked executives running the nation's top 800 companies by their total compensation packages for 1999, including salary, bonuses and stock gains.

No. 1 on the list was Charles B. Wang, head of Computer Associates International Inc. of Islandia, NY, with a 1999 compensation package totaling $650.1 million, Forbes said. He had ranked 39th in 1998, it said.

Two other newcomers to the top 10—who weren't even listed last year—were Bobby R. Johnson Jr., chief executive of Foundry Networks Inc. in San Jose, CA, and Stephen M. Case, head of America Online Inc. in Dulles, VA.

Forbes said Johnson's compensation totaled $230.5 million, giving him the No. 2 ranking, while Case collected $117.1 million to land in the No. 6 spot, the magazine said.

Other chief executives in the top 10 were Mel Karmazin of CBS, $201.9 million; Millard Drexler of The Gap, $172.8 million; John T. Chambers of Cisco Systems, $121.7; Louis V. Gerstner Jr. of IBM, $107.2 million; John F. Welch Jr. of General Electric, $106.9 million; Reuben Mark of Colgate-Palmolive, $97.2 million; and Peter Karmanos Jr. of Compuware, $87.5 million.

The top earner in 1998, Michael D. Eisner of The Walt Disney Co., slipped to No. 16 in 1999 with total compensation of $50.7 million.