With Fortune 500 CEO salaries hitting high eight figures, there is much debate on whether the CEO of a company deserves a multimillion dollar salary, including stock and benefits. Madeleine Homan Blanchard, leadership coach to executives worldwide, says that the high salaries are justified.

Homan says that from the outside, it may seem as if a CEO like Exxon’s Rex Tillerson or Mike Duke of Wal-Mart is getting paid millions of dollars “just” to run a company, but there is a price that executives pay for the privilege. Most work many hours – up to 70 or 80 a week – and suffer from the stress of the job. Blanchard has seen CEOs with severe anxiety and even depression as a result of their roles.

In addition, the responsibility of the success of the company falls squarely on the shoulders of a CEO. In bad times (or with a Board that makes poor decisions), the blame is put on the CEO, whether he deserves it or not. Failing at company goals can cost him not only a job, but a career. The large salary is one way to counter this risk.

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