Ersek makes Bloomberg Markets list

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Western Union Chief Executive Ersek earns $7.9 million per year.

Hikmet Ersek, the chief executive officer of the world’s largest money transfer company, Western Union, is number 38 on Bloomberg Market’s list of the 2011 best-paid 50 financial CEOs.

Ersek’s yearly earning amount to $7.9 million, including his $3.5 million salary, bonus and stock options, according to daily Milliyet. Ersek has been with Western Union since 1999 when he became the Southern Europe regional vice president. After serving in several other posts within the company, he was promoted to the position of CEO in 2010.

KKR Partner Henry Kravis topped the Bloomberg Market’s list at $30 million in annual earnings, while his cousin George Roberts came in second with $29.9 million. Prudential Financial CEO John Strangfeld ranked third with $23.7 million.

Although 2011 was a rough year for many financial institutions in terms of revenues, the salaries of Wall Street CEOs actually witnessed a 20.4 percent increase from 2010, according to Milliyet.