By Bruce Japsen | Abbott Laboratories chairman and chief executive officer Miles White was paid salary, stock awards and a bonus of more than $18.2 million in 2009, the company’s annual proxy statement filed this afternoon said.
His pay included a 3 percent salary increase to $1.85 million from $1.8 million in 2008. He was also paid $12.4 million in stock awards and a $3.9 million “performance incentive plan bonus” that Abbott’s compensation committee said was given “to recognize his strong leadership in guiding the company’s stock performance.”
Abbott’s stock price rose 1.2 percent last year in a tough year for pharmaceutical stocks in general. Largely because of trends in the stock market that impacted these health care companies, the total value of White’s compensation, including stock options and his pension plan, dipped by more than $2 million to $26.2 million.
“The company’s performance for 2009 as previously described and as reflected in the company’s financial statements included strong growth in sales, earnings and shareholders returns that placed Abbott at the top of the health care peer group,” Abbott said in its proxy statement.
Still, Abbott said it outperformed most of its peers in the pharmaceutical and device industries.
“Abbott was one of only two companies in its peer group to achieve double-digit earnings-per-share growth for the third consecutive year,” Abbott spokeswoman Melissa Brotz said. “Abbott’s 2009 operational performance was at the top of the U.S. pharmaceutical peer group.”
Hey, Barack, do you think that this 18.2 Million has any effect on health care costs?
So – Miles White is the chairman of the Civic Committee of Chicago – who is advocating reductions in the state employee health and pension system. So, Abbot makes money hand over fist screwing people via prescriptions costs – with this a*s reaping the benefit – and now he advocates reducing health care and pension benefits for employees. What crap.
Think about how underpaid this guy is next time you have a $200 prescription filled.
Would you rather be crippled by arthritis, die from Aids, have untreated mental illness, have a coronary, or die of diabetes?
Educate yourself before you talk about the cost of pharmaceuticals. Abbott and McDonalds have almost the same Income, think about that. Do you complain about the cost of the BigMac you eat, or the shake you had for lunch? But you complain about the companies that have created solutions to our health problems.
“His pay included a 3 percent salary increase to $1.85 million from $1.8 million in 2008.”
Thank God he got that raise. How could he make ends meet otherwise?
Reality – Yes, BUT McDonald’s tastes waay better than a pill. I agree with everyone else, these high paid CEO, CFO , etc, etc are PART of what is wrong with the health industry as well as the bank industry, auto, etc, etc. AND this country.
Don’t envy him too much. It will be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
How fantastic that I read this as one fo the most popular posts while reading the story about how Illinois unemployment has “soared” to 12.2% Awesome.
So much for change Obama… total failure in only a year.. Is that a record?
“Educate yourself before you talk about the cost of pharmaceuticals. ” Reality .. being you know so much .. tell us what the profit margin is on a pill vs a big mac.. Im guess a tad bit more ya think?
First of all,
Barack Obama has nothing to do with Miles White’s salary. Maybe if the U.S. government bailed out Abbott he could have some say, but they didn’t because this company is a flailing p.o.s.
Secondly,
It costs a billion dollars to make a new drug. That means someone has to pay for it, which means you, me and everyone else using prescription drugs. You want a better healthcare system? Well, don’t blame the pharmecuticals, blame the politicians who won’t let it happen (and the individuals who support them). Abbott makes plenty of money selling its drugs to countries that have public health care systems (i.e. Canada, U.K., France)
Lastly,
As a CEO Miles White has one legal obligation. That is to make as much money as possible for his shareholders and to act in his companies long term interest. If those shareholders don’t think he’s worth it, they can vote in a new board that will appoint someone else. Given that he has done so well for his company though, this is unlikely. You want to make 18 million in a year, become a CEO. Otherwise sit down and shut up.
Abbott uses union workers – the more they make, the more work for us.
Wasn’t it just a couple of weeks ago that we were all in awe of the 100-year-old woman from Lake Forest who was a retired secretary from Abbott who had invested $180 in the company back in 1935 and had turned it into $7 million by the time she died? This company is doing something right.