The Uber board offered Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi the new role on Sunday. And according to Bloomberg data, they would have had to pay him a lot of money to woo him.
Khosrowshahi, who has been at the helm of Expedia since 2005, had almost $185 million in unvested stock options when the offer was made Sunday. He probably wouldn’t forgo that kind of money unless Uber could offer him more.
Executives are usually given a salary, with much of the compensation tied up in stock awards. This is designed to motivate them to grow the company’s value and to stay in the job.
With a $68 billion valuation, Uber can afford a significant compensation package. When Uber bought Otto, it was enough to net founder Anthony Levandowski $250 million.
Because Uber is a private company, it won’t need to disclose Khosrowshahi’s salary and equity stake.
According to The New York Times, Charter Communications CEO Thomas Rutledge was the highest paid CEO last year, with $98 million awarded for just 2016. CBS’ Les Moonves followed with $68.6 million and Madison Square Garden CEO David O’Connor took home $54 million.
Khosrowshahi received nearly $95 million in pay in 2015, making him one of the most highly paid leaders in corporate America. The vast majority of that sum came from a package of stock options that the online travel company gave him in March of 2015 and that was expected to vest over several years.
His pay wasn’t always so rich, however. In 2014, Khosrowshahi’s compensation at Expedia totaled $9.6 million. Last year, he took home $2.4 million in salary and bonus compensation.