GMAC CEO earned $11.6 million last year
The recent string of government bailouts has placed a 50,000-watt spotlight on executive pay. Executives from Detroit automakers have already cut their pay to show the public and their own workforces that they're sacrificing for the greater good. There hasn't been much focus, however, on finance arm executives, though there likely will be after Automotive News learned that GMAC CEO Alvaro de Molina was paid $11.6 million in 2008. Molina's 2008 windfall comes one year after he pulled in nearly $5 million in 2007; an amazing amount of money considering he started at GMAC in September of that year. The breakdown of what Molina earned in 2008 is actually $1.2 million in salary, $5.81 million in stocks and $4.8 million of "other" compensation, offset by stock options that pulled the grand total down by $194,000. Included in the $4.8 million "other" compensation is $2.26 million in usage of a company jet, a privilege that has since been revoked.
If your stomach is turning at the thought of a finance CEO making $11.6 million when his company is losing billions on its mortgage and automotive finance operations, you're not alone. We're guessing that Molina's 2009 will be significantly less lucrative than 2008, but likely still more than most of us feel any CEO deserves.
[Source: Automotive News subs req'd]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
TigerMil 10:33AM (3/02/2009)
Stomach NOT turning...depends on how much he AVOIDED losing as well.
GMAC/GM needs to focus on minimizing losses during this trying time...they will get back to profitability.
No doubt his compensation package will be significantly altered for 2009 given the government bailout.
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jpm100 11:43AM (3/02/2009)
GM doesn't have the last word on the GMAC CEO appointment or salary.
GMAC is Cerberus controlled and not GM controlled.
Slizzo 1:00PM (3/02/2009)
GM doesn't own GMAC, and they haven't for years. Cerberus owns GMAC (who also owns Chrysler now).
Don't blame GM for GMAC's failings.
Sea Urchin 10:33AM (3/02/2009)
Hey, the guy earned it. Just like Wagoner did.................Jobs well done.
Interestingly enough, Autoblog never brings up salaries of Car executives, i wonder why.
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Mr.Oak 10:36AM (3/02/2009)
In this country you're either a socialist or a thief. Those are the only options.
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Corey W. 11:38AM (3/02/2009)
It's because we play a tip-toe game between a true free market and communism. As long as we keep doing this "regulated" capitalism, we're going to have this crap.
jsjs 1:17AM (3/03/2009)
Right - b/c capitalism w/o rules/regulations is exactly what we need.
The impetus for the .com, Enron, oil bubble and sub-prime mess was the deregulation spear-headed by Phil Gramm (it's no coincidence that his wife was on the Board at Enron and that he served as a Vice Chairman of UBS).
W/o proper regulation and oversight (which allows for transparency - vital for an efficient market and competition), we end up w/ the redux of the time of robber barrons and monopolistic practices.
Avinash machado 10:37AM (3/02/2009)
Why is Sea Urchin so obsessed with Wagoner?
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Dude 11:25AM (3/02/2009)
Daddy issues.
Sea Urchin 12:25PM (3/02/2009)
Well Avinash, it sickens me too see someone be so useless and still make 17+ million dollars a year, all the while killing a company along the way.
Think about it, he was a CEO since 2000, it's 2009 17+ mil a year..................company credit card, corporate jet. You get the picture.
John 12:50PM (3/02/2009)
Perhaps because some live such a miserable existance they live through bringing down others.
J.Crew 12:38AM (3/03/2009)
@Sea Urchin
Read "Why GM Matters" to get an understanding of what Rick Wagoner is about and how he manages.
As for this GMAC thing - thank Cerberus for not putting a cap on this guy. Another black eye in bad times for a group getting government money. You would think Cerberus would have learned or at least looked into who is getting paid what knowing a spot light is on the top brass.
Sea Urchin 1:04PM (3/02/2009)
J. Crew, the company is dead. How does he manage?
Jei 10:51AM (3/02/2009)
That nice. What's AIG's CEO pulling these days.
Seems that the govt has given AIG more funds and says, "Hey, if you need more, just call...not like we're going to require some type of re-org plan for the extra cash."
Sickening....
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RSR 11:02AM (3/02/2009)
We should take those CEOs to the woods, with baseball bats. Do CEOs make noise when they fall in the woods?
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Dude 11:24AM (3/02/2009)
I see the media has trained you well.
Before you get mad at the pay of a CEO, look at the entertainers, athletes, and even politicians, raking in even more cash for doing far less work.
RSR 11:36AM (3/02/2009)
The difference is, GMAC has received money from the government. And the money is from ordinary people like us, who do not fly in private jets.
I see the greed has trained you well.
Dude 12:04PM (3/02/2009)
Since when is flying a private jet a crime?
Half of the Washington politicians fly on private jets at taxpayer expense. I don't see people complaining about that.
Polly Prissy Pants 12:49PM (3/02/2009)
"look at the entertainers, athletes, and even politicians"
How much A-Rod or Sandra Bullock pull in has absolutely no bearing on whether our tax money should be given to a CEO who ran a company that lost money.
All these execs want to cash-in and take credit when things are good but when things go bad all of the sudden it wasn't their fault and they still "deserve" million$ because gosh darnit, they worked so hard. Who's really been brainwashed here?
Sean 1:54PM (3/02/2009)
FFS get off the private jets with this businesses.
Commercial airliner: Show up two + hours early, probably get delayed before you leave, on the tarmac, before you land. Forget about getting work done in the air, you're not going to able to talk to your coworkers without pissing off the rest of the flight. Repeat process on the way back.
Private jet: Show up, what, half an hour before it takes off? Probably no delays since it will likely be a small, private airport. Spend the entire time you're in the air preparing for what you're doing when you show up, seeing as how you can get up and walk and talk to everyone there.
It might sound more expensive, but in the end it's probably a lot cheaper in more than a few ways.