MasterCard C.E.O.s Pay? (Almost) Priceless

When MasterCard went public last year, it thoughtfully distributed more than 700,000 shares among its 4,400 employees to thank them for the hard work they put in while preparing for the I.P.O.

Only problem: Fully 40 percent of those shares -- 287,341, give or take -- went to just one employee, chief executive Robert Selander. (Most of the rest received 100 shares that will vest in three years -- if they are still working for MasterCard then.)

Predictably, this led to a healthy annual pay package for Selander. The stock alone was worth about $14 million on the day it was awarded, though it has more than doubled since then. And that was in addition to his plain old salary of $900,000, some non-equity incentive plan compensation of $4.89 million, and assorted "other" compesation of $2.45 million (including $535,200 in retirement plan contributions and $56,000 "payment in lieu of perquisites.")

The grand total -- even before counting he appreciation of his stock -- comes to a shade over $22 million, according to the company's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

by Mark Stein