Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is getting paid a lot more than he did when he was running the Internet company.
Schmidt is getting an award of $100 million in Google Inc.’s restricted stock for the second time in the three years since he relinquished the CEO job to company co-founder Larry Page.
The latest bundle of stock is coming on top of a $6 million cash bonus for Schmidt’s contributions to Google Inc. last year, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday. In his current job as Google’s executive chairman, he deals primarily with regulatory issues, government relationships around the world and company acquisitions.
Schmidt, 58, already has amassed an estimated fortune of $8 billion, mostly through the stock that he received and bought when he became Google’s CEO in 2001.
After Google went public in 2004, Schmidt consistently declined to accept a huge salary. His annual salary during his final six years as CEO was capped at $1 at his request. His annual bonus never exceeded $2,000 during that stretch, nor did he receive any stock awards.
Page, who has an estimated fortune of $25 billion, also caps his salary at $1 and refuses to take a bonus or stock awards.
Shortly after Google announced Schmidt would be turning over the CEO reins to Page, the Mountain View, Calif., company gave him $100 million in restricted stock in recognition of his leadership and to retain his expertise as executive chairman. That batch of stock won’t be fully vested until next year.
This year’s award of $100 million in restricted stock will be granted Wednesday and will vest over a four-year period beginning in May 2015.
Google’s stock gained 58 percent in 2013, closing the year at $1,120.71. It fell $2.66 cents to $1,135.50 in after-hours trading on Thursday after closing regular trading at $1,138.16.
Associated Press/AP Online