All data reflect the 2003 fiscal year.

Source of data: Proxy statements and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Also includes filings by insurance companies with the Ohio Department of Insurance.

Who was included: Executives who live and work in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, with two exceptions. Terry Lundgren, chief executive of Federated Department Stores, is based in New York but is in Cincinnati about once a week. James O'Brien, CEO of Ashland Inc., lives in Lexington and commutes to Covington. Otherwise, executives of local public companies who are based elsewhere are not included.

What's counted: Total compensation is the sum of salary, annual bonuses, long-term bonuses, restricted stock awards, stock options exercised, dividends paid and the cash value of other forms of compensation as stated in regulatory filings.

"Other annual compensation": Forms of compensation that aren't salary or bonus, such as perks (a company car, for instance) or tax reimbursement.

"All other compensation": A catchall category for items that don't fit elsewhere, such as severance payments and payment to 401(k) plans.

Dividends paid: They are estimated through companies' disclosure of how much stock each executive owns.

What is restricted stock? It is an award of stock to the executive, but it vests over time. At some companies, the executive will get the stock only when he retires. In the meantime, the stock will pay dividends to the executive, and he can vote the shares as if he owns them.

Stock owned: Companies are required to disclose the amount of stock owned by top executives. These figures are multiplied by the stock's price to determine the value of the stock owned.

What's not counted

Awards of stock options: An option allows the employee to buy shares of stock in the future at a pre-determined price, so if the option is issued at $20 and the stock rises to $30, the employee can pocket $10 per share by exercising the option. These awards can be substantial, but they are difficult to value until they are exercised. Awards of options are listed separately and not added to compensation until the executive exercises them.

Taxes: In interviews, executives say they pay substantial income taxes on their compensation, so the amount of compensation they keep is less than what the disclosures show. Taxes, however, are not disclosed.