GE still funds the high life for Jack Welch

Jack Welch, who retired as chief executive of General Electric Co last year, is still living large on the company’s dime, enjoying freebies such as country club memberships and tickets to New York Knicks basketball games, according to a court filing by his wife in their divorce case. The exhaustive catalogue of expenses GE covers for Welch represents another example of corporate largesse and is likely to fuel investor outrage about lush pay packages for top executives.

The papers also disclosed perks that were showered on Welch and his wife by GE during their 13-year marriage. GE pitched in more than $7.5 million of the $32.5 million the couple spent on houses and furnishings, according to the papers filed by Jane Beasley Welch in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Jack Welch, who earned about $16.1 million in salary and bonuses from GE last year according to regulatory filings, will continue to have free access to the corporate jet.

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This perk alone could be worth $3.7 million a year, analysis by an outside aviation consulting group hired by Welch’s wife shows.

In addition, the company provides Welch with an apartment adjacent to New York’s Central Park that the court papers value at $80,000 per month. GE helps furnish the apartment, gives him GE brand appliances and pays for expenses as routine as groceries, toiletries and postage. The papers did not give a dollar amount for these items. Reuters