Posted on 04/14/2006 1:20:10 PM PDT by aShepard
April 14, 2006— Soaring gas prices are squeezing most Americans at the pump, but at least one man isn't complaining.
Last year, Exxon made the biggest profit of any company ever, $36 billion, and its retiring chairman appears to be reaping the benefits.
Exxon is giving Lee Raymond one of the most generous retirement packages in history, nearly $400 million, including pension, stock options and other perks, such as a $1 million consulting deal, two years of home security, personal security, a car and driver, and use of a corporate jet for professional purposes.
Last November, when he was still chairman of Exxon, Raymond told Congress that gas prices were high because of global supply and demand.
"We're all in this together, everywhere in the world," he testified.
Raymond, however, was confronted with caustic complaints about his compensation.
"In 2004, Mr. Raymond, your bonus was over $3.6 million," Sen. Barbara Boxer said.
That was before new corporate documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that revealed Raymond's retirement deal and his $51.1 million paycheck in 2005. That's equivalent to $141,000 a day, nearly $6,000 an hour. It's almost more than five times what the CEO of Chevron made.
"I think it will spark a lot of outrage," said Sarah Anderson, a fellow in the global economy program at the Institute for Policy Studies, an independent think tank. "Clearly much of his high-level pay is due to the high price of gas."
Exxon defends Raymond's compensation, pointing out that during the 12 years he ran the company, Exxon became the largest oil company in the world and that the stock price went up 500 percent.
A company spokesman said the compensation package reflected "a very long and distinguished career."
Some Exxon shareholders are now trying to pass resolutions criticizing the company's executive pay policies. The company is urging other shareholders to vote against those resolutions.
i agree it is going to be interpreted as a big FU, but since my last post it occured to me that it is unclear how much if any new stock or options he got as part of the retirement - only 32M in options are listed. It is entirely possible that many of those shares or options he has owned for many years and in fact his overall retirement is the 32M in options and the 7m/year pension plus whatever small items were on the list. (I don't count dividends either, all shareholders get those.)
I don't think shares or options he has held for any amount of time should be considered a retirement or bonus package.
Amazing how there's a faction that thinks it's ok for nearly 1/2 a billion to go down a coffer, on top of the endless unlisted costs (and they are badddd) on top of it that comes from our $3/gallon gas.
If it was $1.50 gas, they'd not have quite as much. Maybe only a $200 million exit clause?
What does he think would happen if we didn't have a capitalist system in the oil markets....and let our GOVERNMENT find, drill, refine and deliver our oil?
I'm sure we would have more oil and cheaper gas right? (sarcasm-off)
He looks like he should be wearing a helmet...............
Or, maybe a condom over his head!
If he keeps up with his present nutritional regime....his heirs will be the only ones seeing the $400 million.... :o
Well, he certainly EARNED it, didn't he?????
"All of you folks who complain are just jealous. ;-)"
I could give a damn about his $400m. I do care about the USA's economy and national security from having decently priced energy costs.
Minimum wage laws. If the minimum wage was $1.50 an hour, you betcha the service stations would hire a bunch of teenagers to do all that again.
Your post was reasonable enough, insofar as it's your right to be "pissed" (stockholders are generally a perpetually slighted and unhappy lot), and leftists (who often call themselves "democrats") can certainly gain a good bit of propaganda mileage but stoking the class warfare flame with newsprint bearing such headlines about a certain man's pay (surely the world would be amiss until and unless everyone were equally compensated).
But I wonder about using terms like "obscene" when speaking about large sums of money. I don't find large sums of money to be "obscene;" similarly, I am not fit to judge any rich person as being "filthy" -- as in "filthy rich."
"He should thank OPEC!"
Perhaps he should also thank the Democrats for keeping Alaskan and Gulf coast oil off the market.
"During Raymond's tenure the stock rose by 500% which means that a $10,000 investment during this period would have grown to $5,000,000."
or possibly 60,000USD. 500% *increase* = 6 times original value.
This guy got more than most country's GNP for a goodbye bonus. This is making the trust lawsuits of the early 20th century look primitive. This just damages our side badly. I'm not sure what the answer is.
Actually, I do. Take over the islamic oil fields and break up trusts so supply and demand is a real factor. Right now it's a damned joke.
....I don't think shares or options he has held for any amount of time should be considered a retirement or bonus package.......
Somewhat hard to tell: but, as of the last public filing, the 3.7 million shares he owns outright; coupled to the 4.1 million option shares he has, equates to a market portfolio of $477 million, on top of today's proxy filing!
Run Exxonmobil FR spokesman! It didn't work, have a great day!
And why is it up to you or anyone else, outside of the company and its stockholders, what pay/compensation of any kind should be?
Heck, it worked in Russia, Cuba, North Korea--they don't have that problem now, do they?
The fuel itself...pretty much wherever the consumers need it.
Energy costs and use are a national economic and national security issue, that's why. This is an important matter.
Really? A guy in America -- land of the free, home of the brave, land of opportunity -- hits it really big after years of skilled leadership service in a very, very difficult industry -- these guys used to get kidnapped -- and that "damages our side?" I say it vindicates our side, and more power to him.
You want to "break up trusts?" Will the real conservatives please stand up?
Then why aren't we drilling in ANWR? Then why aren't we drilling off Florida? Then why are we limited in our drilling off the west coast? Then why is so much land out west OFF-LIMITS to our big, old, nasty, mean-spirited, ugly oil companies?
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