It’s proxy season, revealing the corporate high life at some of New York’s most prominent companies. JPMorgan Chase spent $500,000 last year on security for then-chairman and CEO Bill Harrison. Over at American Express—where charging to the company makes a lot of sense—the king of perks was London-based exec Ed Gilligan, with $2.2 million in personal expenses (his “expatriate benefit” was $917,843; he also got $1.2 million in 2005 to cover taxes in the U.S. and the U.K.) Time Warner No. 2 Jeff Bewkes earned $12.5 million, but the company still picked up his $698 health-club fee (a spokesman refused to say what gym Bewkes belongs to). His total perks were $73,767, a far cry from his boss’s, Richard Parsons, who racked up personal benefits worth $434,003, including a car and “specially trained driver” ($321,127).

Related:

• Archive: “Intelligencer”
• Articles by Mark Walsh
• Table of Contents: April 17, 2006 issue of New York | Subscribe!