Facebook chief executive officer (CEO) Mark Zuckerberg exercised 60 million stock options shortly before the company’s initial public offering (IPO) last year, reaping a gain of nearly US$2.3 billion.
The Associated Press (AP) reports the windfall was detailed in regulatory documents last week and hit Zuckerberg with a large tax bill, which he paid by selling 30.2 million Facebook shares for US$1.1 billion.
Facebook stock has declined 29 per cent since the initial IPO price, and cost Zuckerberg nearly US$7 billion on paper. His stake is worth US$16.4 billion.
Zuckerberg has also confirmed that in 2013 he will earn just US$1, joining a host of other CEOs taking the lowest possible salary. He has also agreed not to take an annual performance bonus.
Other prominent tech figures who have taken minimal salaries include Apple founder Steve Jobs, Oracle’s Larry Ellison and Zynga’s Mark Pincus.
HumanIPO reported last week Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin drew just US$1 each in salaries last year, though they each own company stock worth around US$20 billion.
