The disclosure came as the NYSE announced that Mr Grasso's contract would be extended by two years to 2007.

The exchange said that under the new deal he would receive the same basic pay of $1.4m and an annual bonus of at least $1m.

The amount of money Mr Grasso has accrued during his 36 years at the exchange is expected to raise questions about how much the NYSE has been paying its top officials.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which oversees the exchange, said it was "looking into the details" of the pay package.

Criticism

Earlier this year the NYSE said it would disclose how much it paid top executives in order to improve its corporate governance standards.

Mr Grasso's pay had come under attention after reports had put his total package at $10m a year.

In a statement, the NYSE said the one-off payment consisted of $40m from a savings plan, accrued retirement benefits of $51.6m and $47.9m relating to prior incentive awards.

Mr Grasso said he wanted to withdraw the benefits "in order to facilitate personal financial and estate planning" and added that the sums were subject to full income taxes.

But the size of his compensation package quickly came under fire.

"The idea that anyone needs that much money for motivation is ludicrous." said Theresa Gabaldon, law professor at George Washington University.