The man who once told his shareholders he is the equivalent of a cheap date (in so many words) is also the highest-paid exec in Switzerland, according to a list published by Handelszeitung, the Swiss business journal (Swisster has translated for us).

The newspaper writes that the pay given Novartis ceo Dan Vasella jumped by more than 20 percent in 2008 to 20.5 million francs. Dan is regularly criticized for serving as chairman and ceo by shareholder groups who would like to see the roles split in order to provide more oversight. But Dan has been arguing that he actually saves them money - separating the two jobs would be inefficient and costly.

Hmmm……Meanwhile, the list ranks Roche chairman Franz Hummer in third place, although his income dropped 30 percent to 15.2 million francs from 21.6 million francs in the previous year. Also making the list is Roche ceo Severin Schwan, who earned 8.3 million francs in his first year at the company after assuming office in March 2008. Not surprisingly, big Swiss banks aren’t represented this year.