HOUSTON (REUTERS) - US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson received compensation worth US$27.4 million (S$38.3 million) last year when he was chief executive of Exxon Mobil, the world's largest publicly traded oil producer, regulatory filings showed on Thursday (April 13).
He and other senior executives got raises even though Exxon's net income fell more than 50 per cent in 2016 as the company, like many of its peers, tried to cut costs and weather a period of low oil prices.
The value of Tillerson's compensation package last year rose about 0.5 per cent largely due to a 4 per cent boost in his salary to US$3.2 million and an 8 percent jump in the value of stock awards to US$19.7 million, an Exxon filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed.
The value of perquisites Tillerson received from Exxon last year, including personal security and a life insurance policy, rose 7 per cent to US$575,850.
Tillerson, 65, was nominated by then President-elect Donald Trump to be secretary of state in December. Tillerson retired from Exxon at the end of the year. He was confirmed by the US Senate in early February.
His current post carries an annual salary of US$207,800, according to the federal Office of Personnel Management tables.
As part of an ethics agreement when Tillerson assumed his government post, Tillerson forfeited unvested Exxon stock worth US$2.8 million and potential for a bonus of US$3.9 million. He also waived his right to retiree health benefits.
Tillerson's vested Exxon stock was put into a trust worth about US$180 million at the time, the proceeds of which will be paid out over the next decade, much in the same way proceeds are paid out to all Exxon retirees. The trust is prohibited from investing in Exxon.
Tillerson will not be allowed to work anywhere in the oil and gas industry for the next decade. If he does, the entire trust's value would be donated to a charity that neither he nor Exxon chooses, according to the regulatory filings.
Darren Woods, Exxon's CEO as of January, saw his compensation rise 64 per cent last year, when he was Exxon's president, to US$16.8 million. Woods saw his base salary rise 36 per cent to US$1 million and the value of stock and stock option awards, his pension and company perquisites, including the cost of a home security system, rise as well.
