GM CEO Akerson makes $2.3 mil in 2010 – in 4 months

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Thanks to a recent Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing by General Motors, it has been announced that General Motors Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson was paid over $2.3 million in 2010 after holding the position for just 4 months.

Dan Akerson took over the role of CEO at GM on September 1st, 2010 and as a result of his first 4 months of work; he received $566,667 in salary payments and another $1.76 million in the form of stock payments for a 4-month total of $2,326,667. Due to the US federal government’s partial ownership of the automaker, the feds will have the final say on how much the CEO makes and for 2011 Akerson will expect to be earning at the same rate.

According to the Detroit News, the government-approved pay rate for the CEO of General Motors is around $9 million and former CEO Ed Whitacre made around $5 million until stepping down at the end of August 2010 as CEO; while he served as the company chairman until the end of 2010. Supposing that he manages to last throughout the entire 2011 calendar year, current CEO Akerson can expect to make around that $9 million level – so long as the US government doesn’t decide to change his pay rate.

While some critics of the entire bailout process will raise an eyebrow at Akerson’s pay through 4 months of work in 2010, an interesting note is that with his own money he purchased 20,000 shares of GM stock around the time of the IPO last year. A CEO’s personal investment in the company shows their support and belief in the company’s future and when you consider that 20,000 shares at the IPO price of $33/share cost Akerson around $660,000; he put his salary and more back into the company.

Source: The Detroit News

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