How much is a CEO worth?

How much is a CEO worth? How is he or she performing relative to his or her peers in competing organizations? Be it in boom times or in recession, answers to these questions are of great interest to shareholders, stakeholders and observers alike. However, the answers are not always simple. Should compensation be tied to financial performance? If so, does financial performance mean profits, or revenues, or share price, or some other indicator? Or should performance be judged relative to competitors or the market in general?