Metro, the free daily paper, reported in its June 25 edition that a bunch of NYC people you may never have heard of are making more than most of us can dream of. No. 1 on the list of New York's highest-paid CEOs in 2008, according to Crain's New York Business, is Alliance Bernstein's Peter Kraus, pocketing $52.538 million; No. 2 is Gamco Investors's Mario Gabelli, pocketing $45.927 million; and No. 3 is Philip Morris's Louis Camilleri, pocketing $43.229 million.

I couldn't access the full list (you need a subscription to Crain's, or you can buy the report here), but the Metro article did note that there are only four women in the top 100: No. 26, Avon Products's Andrea Jung, $12.9 million; No. 37, PepsiCo's Indra Nooyi, $9.9 million; No. 72, Ann Taylor Stores's Kay Krill, $5.7 million, and No. 79, The New York Times Co.'s Janet Robinson, $5.3 million.

And I was happy to get a few thousand back on my taxes this year.

General Motors has announced that they are paring down their corporate jet fleet. General Motors started this year with seven jets in their corporate fleet but the Detroit News reports that they turned in two in September and plan to jettison two more as a result of drastic cutbacks in travel expenses. The Big Three automakers all faced angry words from lawmakers on Capitol HIll when their CEOs flew in on private jets to ask for federal aid. Regulatory filings reveal that General Motors spent 256,793 on personal use of the company's aircraft by CEO Rick Wagoner, Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson and Vice Chairman Bob Lutz,. Ford spent $752,203 last year on CEO Alan Mulally's personal use of the company's aircraft using the jet for all business and personal travel for security reasons. Ford also spent $29,107 last year on first-class commercial airfare for Ford Americas President Mark Fields' to fly to and from his Florida home. Chrysler doesn't own any corporate jets but leases or charters planes per trip as needed and says they try to fill the jet whenever possible including giving children rides to Detroit hospitals from other cities. The corporate jet has been seen for years as a necessary perk for CEOs who frequently travel but like lavish holiday parties, luxury boxes at sporting events, and corporate retreats, the private jet now serves as a symbol of greed and foolish expense.