Regulatory filings show that ExxonMobil CEO turned U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made $27.4 million last year, according to a new report by Reuters.
He, along with several other top-level executives at the publicly traded company, enjoyed raises in 2016, even though Exxon's net income was cut in half due to bearish oil markets. Exxon has been selling assets and cutting costs to deal with 2.5 years of low oil prices.
A corporate filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows an increase in Tillerson's salary of four percent and an eight percent increase in the value of his stock options in 2016.
Since Tillerson began his position as Secretary of State in February, the government has paid him a $207,800 annual salary. In light of potential conflicts of interest, the former executive gave up rights to $2.8 million in unvested Exxon stocks and roughly $4 million in potential bonuses for 2017.
The rest of Tillerson's stock is in a trust valued at $180 million, which will be paid out to him over the course of ten years. He is barred from working in oil and gas for ten years. If he violates this agreement, all of the contents of the trust will be donated to a charity of neither his nor Exxon's choosing.
The freshman head of U.S. foreign policy is currently in Moscow, where he met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday. Following the meeting, he told reporters that relations between the countries were at "a low point" due to disagreements over Syria, Russian meddling in American politics, and other issues.
"As to the question of the interference with the election, that is fairly well established in the United States and I think that has been spoken to on the Hill as well with the Congress. It's a serious issue," Tillerson told reporters in the Russian capital.
By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com
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Zainab Calcuttawala is an American journalist based in Morocco. She completed her undergraduate coursework at the University of Texas at Austin (Hook’em) and reports on… More