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It’s no secret that Starbucks Corp.’s Howard Schultz will step down from the top job a wealthy man. What’s surprising is how wealthy. Schultz, 63, has received compensation worth about $172 million since he began his second stint as the coffee retailer’s chief executive officer in January 2008, according to the company’s regulatory filings.
Schultz, who’s set to step down as CEO in April, received most of his compensation in equity, which varies with Starbucks’ share performance.
“Whatever figure you read is highly unlikely to be the value the executive actually receives,” said Peter Lupo, a managing director at executive compensation consulting firm Pearl Meyer in New York. “For a CEO, only about 10 percent of pay is guaranteed. The rest is typically closely tied to performance.”
The best corporate leaders inspire their companies to success, a fact that’s sometimes forgotten by CEOs looking to match their compensation to people such as Schultz.