And nations with close U.S. ties, like Mexico, are making economic gains by comparison.

WSJ: With Ch��vez's Death Comes Grief for His Socialist Allies

Somehow, rule by the raucous rabble gains appeal by comparison.

FORBES: SE Asia: Elect and Still Prosper?

But Mr. Diller says that's not a fair comparison for his total compensation for the decade, because the compensation was driven by option gains that reflected strong returns over the earlier periods.

WSJ: No. 2 Diller Says Investors Benefited

Some of the performance figures are subdued by comparison with the start of last year as Aggreko is not benefiting from the one-off gains from the Vancouver Winter Olympics, the build-up to the FIFA World Cup in South Africa and the Asian Games.

BBC: Japan earthquake power supply deal nets Aggreko ?60m