There's a difference between a CEO that's paid well and one that's raking in loot he clearly doesn't deserve. The former may invoke a bit of ire in this economic climate, but when cooler heads prevail, the cash laid out is usually but a rounding error on the increases in market cap he's driven. An overpaid CEO, on the other hand ... well, it's a bit harder to justify the inflated package.

Kerri Chyka over at CNN Money reports that the Corporate Library sifted through the bloated and legit packages out there to let us know which top dogs are rolling in dough that should probably be left in the company coffers.

1. Michael Jeffries, Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF)
Last year, Michael Jeffries made $71.8 million in total, with a base salary of $1.5 million, according to corporate governance research firm, the Corporate Library. It even included a $6 million retention bonus ... because you want to hang on to a guy who the research firm calls one of the five "Highest Paid Worst Performers" of 2008. If that stings, Jeffries can hop on the Abercrombie corporate jet instead of running away. He's paid better than 75% of rival CEOs, while the share price generally underperformed them.

2. James W. Stewart, BJ Services Company (NYSE: BJS)
James Stewart had a good year in 2008, as it outperformed most of its peers, and he nailed a $34.6 million package. In all fairness, $30 million came from the value realized on stock options. The four years that preceded Stewart's strong performance, on the other hand, were lackluster. The future, it seems, is immaterial, as Baker Hughes picked up BJ Services last month, and Stewart will probably be out the door at the end of the year, when the deal closes.

This post is written as part of AOL Money & Finance's Best & Worst of 2006. Vote for Barry Diller, or to check out the other overpaid CEOs.

I'm sorry, but I so totally win. What I mean to say is, Barry Diller so totally wins. He is the undisputed worldwide best freakin' ever King of the Overpaid!

There are many reasons someone might see fit to award their company's CEO a Whole Lot of Money. Perhaps that CEO oversaw a banner year for the company, with record profits and growth in sales and maybe the launch of a whole new enterprise. Maybe that CEO got named as Most Powerful this or Most Influential that. Maybe the CEO played less golf than any other CEO in the whole U.S. of A. Maybe -- this company might award its CEO, say, $10 or $20 million in salary and bonuses and another $20 or $40 million in stock compensation. I mean, that would be a lot of money for a job well done, right?

Ha ha. Hahahaha. HAHAHAHAHA! That's Barry Diller laughing at you. Because in one year, as CEO of IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ:IACI), during which by all accounts his company did a whole lotta nothing, he made: $295 million.

More than four times the next-most-highly-paid CEO for 2005. That doesn't even count the stock options from Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE), which he spun off during the year, which by one calculation has Diller clocking in at nearly $500 million.

What does IAC/InterActive do? Mostly, it owns the Home Shopping Network, with lots of other little properties like Match.com, Ticketmaster, Evite, Citysearch, and LendingTree. Actually these are mostly really great companies but I think for pay like this Diller should at the very least be hosting the overnight cubic zirconia and Bedazzler marathon on HSN once a week.