AIG top boss to earn $1 salary

The chief executive officer of beleaguered insurance firm American International Group Inc. will get only $1 US in salary this year, the company said Tuesday.

Edward Liddy, who joined the company in September, will also only receive one buck in 2009. His only compensation will come in the form of stock grants, the firm said.

AIG's seven top executives will not get bonuses this year and won't see any pay increases through 2009. There will also be no salary increases through 2009 for the 50 next-highest executives, in addition to restrictions on bonus, severance and retention awards.

AIG has faced pressure to limit the compensation of its top executives. The New York-based company was asked by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo earlier this month for full disclosure on its compensation for this year.

Battered by the credit crunch, AIG has received about $150 billion US in bailout money from the U.S. government so far.

Cuomo is also probing compensation at other Wall Street firms that received bailout funding. Goldman Sachs, UBS and Barclays are all reported to have cancelled some bonuses for top executives recently.

“We are extremely grateful for the assistance we have received, and we know we have an obligation to use that assistance to help AIG recover, contribute to the economy and repay taxpayers,” Liddy said in a release.

Liddy may be eligible for a "special bonus for extraordinary performance" payable in 2010, although he is not eligible to get severance from AIG.