Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn will once more be graced with the honor of being the highest paid executive at a Japanese corporation, having held the honor three previous times in the past five years.
Bloomberg reports Ghosn made ¥995 million ($9.76 million USD) in salary and bonuses for fiscal year 2013, which ended March 31 of this year; total compensation, including dividends, amounts to ¥10 billion ($9.81 million). This puts the CEO ahead of Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who made four times less than Ghosn despite Nissan eking out a profit amid incentive spending and recall costs in the same period. However, Toyoda’s ¥757 million ($7.42 million) in dividends narrows the gap between the two leaders.
Though Ghosn may be killing it in Japan, his total earnings are outgunned by those of his standing among European and U.S. automakers. Outgoing Ford CEO Alan Mullaly earned $23 million in total compensation last year, while GM CEO Mary Barra may receive as much as $14.4 million at the end of FY 2014. Meanwhile, VW boss Martin Winterkorn took home €15 million ($20 million) and Daimler’s doctor Dieter Zetche made €8.25 million ($11.2 million) in 2013. Renault paid €2.3 million ($3.1 million) to Ghosn, bringing total earnings from the alliance to around $13 million USD..
First no Japanese yokozuna for over a decade and now this.
Kanashii
Even though he has a striking resemblance to Mr. Bean, Ghosn is admittedly one of the most skilled auto-CEO today.
Good for him that a gaijin has been able to achieve this honor.
I think he looks more like a bonsai’d Bob Crane.
Standing still, yes, he looks like Crane.
But his face gestures are uniquely Bean.
Were you a fan of Blackadder? Were you also astonished at how Atkinson transformed his character from the first to second series?
Not really.
But I’m a big fan of Atkinson’s short videos, they are absolutely genius.
That’s a cheap CEO for the work that he does.
“Though Ghosn may be killing it in Japan, his total earnings are outgunned by those of his standing among European and U.S. automakers.”
Consider the salaries of Rick Wagoner, Jack Smith or Roger Smith.
Then consider the salaries of Fujio Cho or Katsuaki Watanabe (Toyota) or Takanobu Ito or Takeo Fukui (Honda), which are about an order of magnitude less.
Now, compensation is not comparable between cultures, but _come on_.
But I’ll bet neither of the Smiths or Wagoner would have allowed an official photo of them in a wrinkly suit.
Maybe there’s a little Sergio about Carlos.
Not surprisingly, a Westerner has been the highest paid CEO in Japan, and still, that pales in comparison with what US CEOs rob, I mean, get.
The most astonishing is the golden parachute.
I’m still flabberghasted to recall Bob Nardelli (of Cere-Chrysler-bus fame) getting a quarter-billion-dollar kiss-off from Home Depot.
My gosh was it really that much? I have to be honest at the 100 million dollar mark to get rid of somebody, as a board member I’m just going to lure the future ex-CEO out if the country and hire Blackwater to retire them.
I may have exaggerated somewhat; I believe it was somewhere around $210M. His nominal compensation was in the $240M range.
Well, Japan doesn’t have a tradition of rock star CEOs, though some of the company perks they get allow them to live like princes. Does Japan have an equivalent to the IRS, monetizing those perks and adding the amount to taxable compensation?
No surprise that Ghosn is being paid with massive yen. He cut all executive fringed benefits. No more hostess bars, karaoke bars, and extravagant dinners. His first meeting with executives were in a ramen shop. It’s no wonder…
I’d rather have the fringe benefits personally.
“…having held the honor three previous times in the past five years.”
Wouldn’t that mean, then, that he is now the “Top Earner In Japan For Fourth Time In _SIX_ Years”, since this year is not — unless we’re in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania year-round — one of the past five years?