Verizon’s Seidenberg, McAdam Bring Home Bank

With great responsibility comes enormous pay. Just ask Ivan Seidenberg and Lowell McAdam.

Seidenberg, the former chief executive of Verizon Communications Inc., and McAdam, the current leader of the New York-based telecommunications titan, brought home a fortune last year.

Reviewing a regulatory filing by Verizon, The Associated Press calculated that Seidenberg earned $26.4 million last year despite serving as the top executive for only seven months in 2011. That figure exceeded his earnings in 2010 ($18.1 million) and 2009 ($17.5 million) when Seidenberg ran the company for the entire duration of those years, according to the AP’s analysis.

Seidenberg’s successor, McAdam, isn’t exactly hurting for cash either. McAdam brought home $23.1 million in total compensation last year, Dow Jones Newswires reported, citing Verizon’s annual report released Monday. As chief operating officer, McAdam earned $7.2 million in 2010, according to the report.

Verizon certainly can afford to pay its executives top dollar; the telecom company reported a 2011 profit of $10.2 billion.