Much of the $ value large companies put on the MBA degree comes from a defensive cover-our-asses mentality.Have MBA. Can confirm. But it does this to your salary --> $$$
For instance, if management (or the board for a CEO) is choosing between two roughly equal candidates for a high level executive position, one with an MBA one with only a Bachelor's degree, they often choose to elevate the MBA candidate. Why? Because if the newly promoted/hired leader screws things up, they can say "look, he's got good credentials." If they had hired the Bachelor's degree guy, they might be subject to criticism that they hired somebody underqualified.
I have an in-law who had no degree at all, who nonetheless rose fairly high up the corporate ladder at a Fortune 500 outfit. But there was a ceiling she bumped into, and was repeatedly told -- "You're the best person for this opportunity, we really want you in that position, you're very well qualified, but you don't have a degree. We've got to have somebody with a degree." It's just a sheepskin to hang on the wall. It doesn't make her a better executive, but they demanded it. So she had to sacrifice family time to slog through a stupid degree over the years to move up further. Once she got the degree (it could have been a BA in Art History for crying out loud.........), she rocketed up the organization even further. This happens a lot.
At it's root: a defensive, cover-our-asses mentality by mostly mid-level, and some upper-level management in large organizations.