Rupert Murdoch, the chief executive and controlling shareholder of News Corp, saw his compensation drop 40 percent in fiscal 2009 as weak earnings reduced his incentive pay, according to an Associated Press review of regulatory filings. Murdoch, 78, was awarded a compensation package valued at $18 million, down from $30 million a year ago. His base salary of $8.1 million was unchanged, but his performance-based incentive pay fell 69 percent to $5.4 million from $17.5 million a year ago. News Corp. owns The Wall Street Journal, Fox television network, 20th Century Fox movie studio, Sky Italia, and newspapers in Britain and Australia. The New York-based media company awards incentive pay based on the change in adjusted earnings per share, and it determined that measure grew 0.87 percent in fiscal 2009 from a year ago, entitling Murdoch to an incentive bonus of $5 million to $10 million. The company ended up approving an amount on the low end of that range. Associated Press said its calculations showed no executives with the company earned any incentive pay. Murdoch’s stock option and restricted stock grants were unchanged at $4 million and all other compensation, for items such as personal use of company aircraft and a car allowance, fell 6 percent to $380,000. Over the fiscal year, which ended June 30, non-voting Class A shares fell 39 percent to $9.11 from $15.04 a year earlier. Murdoch controls nearly 40 percent of the voting Class B shares of the company, mostly through a family trust.
Pay for News Corp’s Murdoch Falls to $18M
News Corp CEO Robert Murdoch’s compensation will decrease to $18 million.
August 21, 2009