GM CEO Rick Wagoner Takes a $8.7m Haircut
Please. Don’t get to worrying about Rick Wagoner’s finances. First of all, Rick still made $5.4 million in ’08, the year that GM threw itself at the mercy of the US taxpayer (in their own arrogant, extortionist kinda way). And, as we reported some three years ago, GM’s CEO has a bankruptcy-proof pension. So when the artist formerly known as the world’s largest automaker finally sinks into the abyss of its own making, Rick’s OK. That’s assuming Wagoner hasn’t pissed away the $100 million+ he’s banked since ascending to the top rungs of the only company for which he’s ever worked. Meanwhile, in any case, what’s wrong with this juxtaposition [via Bloomberg]: “Wagoner’s [2007] compensation included a salary of $2.1 million and he wasn’t paid a bonus, the Detroit-based automaker said in a regulatory filing today. The largest U.S. automaker lost $30.9 billion last year, the second biggest shortfall in the company’s 100-year history.” Verecundia afflictus.
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I'm trying to reconcile these Bloomberg numbers with what's being reported in MSNBC (though I trust Bloomberg far more): "Separately, GM said it gave GM’s Chief Executive Rick Wagoner compensation valued at $14.9 million last year for leading a company that lost $30.9 billion and is running on government loans. But a large part of his pay package is in stock and options that have dropped in value from $11.9 million when they were granted in March of last year to just over $682,000 currently." $14.9M - $11.9M = $3.0M base salary. Bloomberg has $2.1M base, $5.4M total. Regardless, the most striking bit of information from the MSNBC article, if it's correct, is the drop in value of Rick's stock and options from $11.9M to $682K in about 9 months. At least he gets to feel a bit of the sting from his gross mismanagement of GM.
If Rick runs his personal, household finances like he has run GM's, he will be out of money by next week.
Figuring out Rick's salary is just like trying to determine what a fair price for a GM car is. That's pretty funny
The only way Wagoner can probably function now is to delude himself into believing he is the only one with experience to right GM's ship. His salary is just justification of this belief. The leadership of GM still believes that are the only ones qualified to turn the company around. You can live in a delusion forever. It is the reason OJ can get up in the morning.