Not even kings of old had lackeys piling bags of gold at their feet.

CEOs do it the same way the kings did, by setting policy and writing memos, reading reports and attending meetings. CEOs are managers hired by corporate boards elected by the shareholders, they are salaried employees whose job it is to maximize profits. If they don't do their jobs they get fired and someone who can do the job replaces them. Of course, like movie stars, the good ones get to negotiate sweet contracts for themselves, deals that ensure thaey make out no matter what happens. It's not the same thing as the owner/manager of Sol's Carpet Warehouse deciding on whether he should hire some new employees or replace his aged delivery van.

And remember, those shareholders who the CEO ultimately has to please aren't necessarily people either. They are trusts and companies and banks who are partially owned by other organizations, and so on, and so on. When I had stock in a 401k I could not name you one company where that money was invested in, or whether or not it was a well- managed business, or a moral one, or whether it served the nation or the world, or the environment or even any of the other stockholders. All I cared about was that quarterly percentage figure, because I knew the minute it dipped I was bailing out.

You simply cannot compare what happens at Sol's Carpets with what happens at Exxon or GE. It's like trying to equate a Second Lieutenant's training in small unit tactics with General Eisenhower's Strategic Plan for Europe.