Oracle Will Cut Larry Ellison's Pay Again Next Year
He'll get 750,000 fewer stock options, according to reports filed with the SEC. All told, Ellison will be granted 2.25 million shares as stock options in fiscal 2015.
New co-CEOs Safra Catz and Mark Hurd will get a one-time option to buy an extra 500,000 shares.
After activist investors complained about Ellison's huge salary in fiscal 2013 (which was not a great year for Oracle), Oracle's board in July announced they would cut his stock options.
Instead of 7 million stock options, he would get 3 million. By giving up the CEO title, he's being reduced to 2.25 million. Keep in mind that Ellison is already Oracle's largest shareholder, with about a 25% stake.
In July, the board also cut stock options to then-presidents Catz and Hurd. They went from 5 million shares to 2.5 million. So they've been raised to 2.75 million.
Instead of stock options, the board will offer stock tied to performance. By giving up the CEO title, Ellison will be eligible for fewer of those, too (562,500 instead of 750,000). Catz and Hurd will get a bump in the number of RSUs they can earn this year, to 687,500 apiece.
Ellison has been one of the highest-paid executives for years, making him the fifth richest man in the world. In 2014, Oracle paid Catz and Hurd $37.7 million apiece and Ellison $67 million.