What does a dollar a year salary mean?

Many 'No-Pay' CEOs Actually Were Richly Compensated, Study Finds | workforce.com:

"When a corporate chief executive voluntarily forgoes a salary or takes $1 a year in pay, it’s largely symbolic in many cases, according to a report released by The Corporate Library.

In 41 companies where the chief executive had either no base salary or a salary of $1 for the year, as well as no cash bonus, 21 received some form of “all other compensation” payment, the study—of 2008 proxy filings—released Friday, April 17, found. And the 18 executives who voluntary went without base salary had a combined total of nearly $6 billion in company stock alone."

NOTE the correction from last night's class. Qualitatively nothing changes. The $6 billion figure respresents stock holdings of the 18 executives. Which is not a problem as far as I can see, but the article makes it seem like a bad thing.