Apr. 25--Heads, he wins. Tails, shareholders lose.

Either way, the chief executive of Chesapeake Energy makes a killing.

Aubrey McClendon, who built Chesapeake into the nation's largest independent natural gas producer, had a terrible year in 2008. He lost 95 percent of his stake in Chesapeake, once valued at almost $2 billion, on a reckless gamble with a margin account and company stock.

Rather than reprimand the CEO for playing speculator and damaging the company's reputation, the board gave McClendon a $77 million bonus in 2008 -- on top of $23 million in shares, salary and other perks.

This after Chesapeake's net profit fell by half and its stock price dropped 59 percent as natural gas prices collapsed.

In the proxy released last week, directors defended the payout as a reward for superior performance, but it's actually a path for rebuilding McClendon's personal wealth. Call it a CEO bailout, with shareholders footing the bill.

It's not on par with the bonuses at AIG -- after all, Chesapeake made $723 million last year and needs no government help. But it's another shameful example of excessive executive pay and how the top dogs live by different rules.

"A lot of employees and investors in Chesapeake have seen their 401(k)s drop by half, and nobody is trying to make them whole," said Bruce Bullock, director of the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University.

The big bonus is just the starting point. Nearly all of it, $75 million, was included in a new employment contract designated for one use only: to buy a personal stake in Chesapeake gas wells that gives the CEO his own royalty stream.

McClendon is the only executive who can get up to 2.5 percent of the revenue from the 41,000 wells that Chesapeake invests in.

He's had that option from the beginning, a reward for his role as co-founder in 1989.

It's common for execs at small oil and gas companies to get a piece of the action in some fashion. For years, XTO Energy paid enormous awards to its senior executives, based on stock-price appreciation, until analysts raised enough of a stink to force a change.

SMU's Bullock says oil and gas companies have some unique compensation packages, but he's never seen one like McClendon's -- not at an organization so large.

Last year, the Oklahoma City company reported $11.6 billion in revenue. Chesapeake has also become a high-profile player in Fort Worth, developing a big stake in the Barnett Shale, buying the former Pier 1 building and donating to many local causes.