Firm questions Exxon CEO's pay

12:00 AM CST on Thursday, December 15, 2005
By ELIZABETH SOUDER / The Dallas Morning News

An Exxon Mobil Corp. shareholder asked the board Wednesday to consider whether chief executive Lee Raymond makes too much money.

NorthStar Asset Management Inc., which holds about 14,700 of Exxon's 6.3 billion shares outstanding, filed a resolution asking the company to evaluate whether $80 million is too much for the CEO to get in one year. The Boston firm urged the board to study the issue before Mr. Raymond retires at the end of the year.

"As shareholders it is essential to understand specifically how this level of compensation creates shareholder value," the resolution states.

Wednesday was the deadline for shareholders to file resolutions for Exxon's annual meeting in May. Executive pay is a common subject for such resolutions.

A spokesman for Irving-based Exxon said company officials typically consider each resolution and discuss it with the shareholders who filed. Exxon's board isn't bound to follow any shareholder suggestion.

In 2004, Mr. Raymond's salary was $3.6 million, according to documents filed with the Securities Exchange Commission. Including salary, bonus, restricted stock awards and other compensation, Mr. Raymond took home around $38 million last year. Mr. Raymond also exercised stock options last year for $43.6 million, according to filings.

NorthStar urged the Exxon board to compare the CEO's compensation to that of other chief executives and to salaries of other Exxon employees.

Exxon said in the SEC filing that most executives' pay depends on the financial performance of the oil company.

NorthStar officials questioned whether it is good to pay one man so much, when consumers are paying high gasoline prices.

Back to News and Media