Next Chrysler CEO faces pay cap

Under U.S. Treasury rules governing the loans made to auto companies, the next Chrysler CEO may be limited to $500,000 in total annual compensation and will be eligible for stock awards that can be transferred only after the new automaker repays all government loans.

That’s still a $499,999 raise compared to the dollar a year that was being paid to current CEO Bob Nardelli but it’s just a fraction of the millions that were paid to Tom LaSorda, Ford CEO Alan Mullaly and former GM CEO Rick Wagoner, not to mention the fortunes paid to those Wall Street financiers who got $750 billion from the government with minimal oversight.

The new CEO won’t be the only one on short rations; the top 25 executives will also have to agree to pay limits and waive their rights to sue over the reduced compensation.