The former chief executive of the floundering Leighton Holdings, Wal King, has been forced to make do with a $23.5 million retirement, consulting and non-compete package.

Despite collecting a ''fixed retirement benefit'' of $12.6 million, a $4.9 million three-year ''restraint'' payment and a previously undisclosed $6 million three-year consulting deal, King is believed not to be entirely happy about missing out on his $5 million ''satisfactory transition to a new CEO'' bonus.

Hands tied ... Leighton Holdings' former CEO, Wal King. Illustration: John Shakespeare

It seems that the transition to the short-lived chief executive David Stewart and then Hamish Tyrwhitt in the space of eight months - along with a $408.8 million full-year loss - was not satisfactory for the Leighton board.

But as far as his sizeable payout, King could always blame the Americans. As he pointed out after the 2009 Leighton annual meeting: ''All I can say to you is that it won't be any high-flying American parachuted in at outrageous salaries that make mine look like chicken feed and stay for two years and fill up the jumbo jet and leave.