On the Fact that (According to Economist, Steven Kaplan) CEO Pay Actually Increased Faster (from the '60s to 2000) Amongst the Privately Held Corporations (i.e., the Ones in which the Owners Cut the Checks) than it Did Amongst the Publicly Held Ones

This is strong evidence that CEO pay is a by-product of market forces and NOT the result of people on the various boards taking care of their buddies (and, yes, there are no doubt anecdotal examples of this happening - but again, that is not how science operates).