Gates, Ballmer top $1 million in pay

by admin September 30, 2005 at 1:44 am

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and CEO Steve Ballmer have finally entered the millionaire’s club.

Although the duo have long been billionaires, last year they both cracked the $1 million annual-pay threshold, up from about $900,000 in total pay the prior year. For fiscal 2005, Gates and Ballmer each received a $600,000 salary and $400,000 in bonus pay.

“The compensation of Messrs. Ballmer and Gates reflects their status as significant shareholders of the company,” Microsoft said in its annual proxy filing Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. “Their salaries are significantly below competitive levels elsewhere in the information technology industry and large market capitalization U.S. companies, and they do not participate in the company’s equity compensation program.”

Full story: ZDNet