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Twenty months into the worst oil price crash since the 1980s, well-heeled residents of the world's oil capital are among the hardest hit, largely because tanking energy firm shares make up much of oil and gas executives' compensation.
While Houston's economy is far more diversified now than in the 1980s when the city lost 13 percent of its jobs, it remains home to 5,000 energy-related firms and the fortunes of oil and gas executives are tied more than ever to the energy market.
Since U.S. lawmakers passed a law in 1992 encouraging "performance-based" pay, the share of stock options in executive compensation has steadily increased, said David Bixby, Managing Director and head of the Houston office for Pearl Meyer compensation consultants.
"Now, you're looking at 70 to 80 percent of CEO compensation in stock on average for oil and gas companies," Bixby said. "They are going to be exposed to commodity price cycles."