Almost invariably those CEOs who take $1 a year have high net worth, plus lots of stock options. However it's reasonable (and even common) for CEOs to take pay

Almost invariably those CEOs who take $1 a year have high net worth, plus lots of stock options. However it's reasonable (and even common) for CEOs to take pay cuts in hard times. I've heard of companies that when they implement pay cuts, top managers take larger percentage cuts than lower level employees.