A study by the Associated Press says that executives at bailed out banks got $1.6 billion in salaries, bonuses, and other benefits — including cars, personal use of company jets, and country club memberships.

The total amount given to nearly 600 banking executives would have covered bailout costs for many of the banks that accepted funds from the government, says the AP.

The article is a laundry list of perks and multi-million dollar bonuses. Here are a few examples we really enjoyed:

Goldman Sachs’ tab for leased cars and drivers ran as high as $233,000 per executive. The firm told its shareholders this year that financial counseling and chauffeurs are important in giving executives more time to focus on their jobs.
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JPMorgan Chase chairman James Dimon ran up a $211,182 private jet travel tab last year when his family lived in Chicago and he was commuting to New York. The company got $25 billion in bailout funds.
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John A. Thain, chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch, topped all corporate bank bosses with $83 million in earnings last year. Thain, a former chief operating officer for Goldman Sachs, took the reins of the company in December 2007, avoiding the blame for a year in which Merrill lost $7.8 billion. Since he began work late in the year, he earned $57,692 in salary, a $15 million signing bonus and an additional $68 million in stock options.
Like Goldman, Merrill got $10 billion from taxpayers on Oct. 28.

And there’s more!

Top execs got $1.6B of taxpayer bank bailout, report shows [AZ Star]

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