A lot of those exorbitant executive compensation packages aren't as simple as some direct deposits into a bank account. Executives are often paid in shares as well, which has the perverse benefit of aligning an executive's personal greed with the business' corporate greed.

CEOs aren't compensated so much because of popularity or even because of their qualifications. They're compensated that much as a cut of the profits they were able to generate and as an incentive to generate more. Imho anyway.