The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition Barrick Gold's incoming chairman John Thornton will receive a $9.5-million pay package. The Globe's Rachelle Younglai writes the disclosure came Monday, as Barrick ($19.68) unveiled new compensation methods aimed at appeasing shareholders angry about excessive rewards at the miner.
Barrick paid Mr. Thornton $17-million, including a $11.9-million signing bonus, in the previous year. Mr. Thornton will use $5-million of his current compensation to buy Barrick stock, which is what he did with his controversial bonus.
Even though the company cut costs and improved its balance sheet, the miner wrote down billions of dollars in assets and had to suspend one of its key gold projects.
"Investors are going to wonder, 'Is Thornton worth the price?'" said Pawel Rajszel, analyst with Veritas Investment Research.
Barrick's founder and outgoing chairman Peter Munk earned $3.9-million in 2013. A retirement bonus for Mr. Munk is still a possibility. Barrick's lead independent director Brett Harvey told reporters the company's institutional investors liked the new executive pay methods, which were developed after months of consultations with major shareholders.
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