All is not lost.
CEOs in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area have been getting some big raises.
New data from ISS Corporate Solutions, a subsidiary of proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services that provides research to companies, reveal that
the median CEO pay bump in the Washington area was 15.4 percent. That number, which was determined based on the 36 local companies that have released their pay data so far this year, was higher than the 12.5 percent median raise among CEOs nationwide.
Only two metropolitan areas had higher median raises: Stamford, Conn. (where the jump was nearly 39 percent) and San Francisco (19.4 percent).
The average CEO pay package in D.C., meanwhile, was even more eye-popping than the median. It showed a highest-in-the-country 80 percent increase from 2013 to 2014. That was largely due to a few outlier companies, said John Roe, executive director of the group. Therefore, he added, "You have to take the increase in average with a grain of salt."
For example, the
compensation for Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav was
$156 million in 2014, a 368 percent hike from the year prior. That huge jump came because he signed a new six-year contract in early 2014 that included one-time equity and option awards of $94.6 million and $50.5 million, respectively, which were designed to encourage long-term
ownership of the company and will vest over time. A Discovery spokeswoman declined to comment beyond what the company shared in its
proxy.
A few other big awards at local companies also swayed the numbers. MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor had an option award valued at $
21.7 million, helping to place him at No. 2 on ISS's list. His total compensation was $
24.1 million. However, the options granted in 2014 will vest over approximately four years, according to the company's proxy. And effective last September, Saylor's salary was reduced to $1 and his cash bonus was eliminated.
NVR CEO Paul Saville's
$19.3 million in 2014 pay placed him at No. 4. It included a block grant of
$16.9 million in performance-based options, though those will also vest over a four-year period. The company says in its
proxy it makes periodic grants that reflect several years of compensation, rather than annual awards.
Raises for CEOs in Washington are among the highest in the country - The Washington Post
Thanks, Obama!
No, seriously, thanks!