Much of the yelling has been about Mr. Grasso's accepting an enormous payout.

In addition to the enormous payout, the deal gives Mr. Ross access to more capital at a time when rising interest rates and a surge in high-yield debt has laid the groundwork for more of the sort of distressed-company buyouts that are his specialty.

He pushed ABB to demand that Percy Barnevik refund part of the enormous payout he received after leaving as chairman.

If completed, Blackstone's offering is likely to bring enormous payouts to Mr. Schwarzman and other Blackstone executives.

To be sure, plenty of initial public offerings have delivered enormous payouts.

It is precisely the success of a hidden gem like Wal-Mart that fuels the rush to buy shares of a stock that dangles the promise of an enormous payout.

Medical Liability Reform: Because of excessive litigation and enormous payouts, the cost of liability insurance has risen more than 10 percent in recent years.

It's all too common, he said, for one member of the dueling pair to insist upon an enormous payout that cripples the business.

The program would not be able to muster the enormous payout needed to reward the superwealthy, who alone would remain in it, given the paltry revenues such persons would collectively contribute.

It's a feat of patience and engineering that yields enormous payouts.