[From my Globe and Mail story today:] In his last year as the No. 2 man at the world's No. 1 computer maker, Kevin Rollins' pay packet was just under $40-million (U.S.).
Most of that came in the form of Dell Inc. stock options that Mr. Rollins cashed in during 2003. He exercised 1.17 million options for a realized value of $35.94-million.
Some say a pay packet of nearly $40-million is too much.
"On the face of it, I deem that to be excessive," Thomas Caldwell, chairman of Caldwell Securities Ltd. of Toronto, said yesterday. "We're getting to the level that people have a sense of entitlement."
But Mr. Rollins dismisses such suggestions.
"They've all vested a long time ago," he said, referring to the options he exercised. "I'm just taking some off the table. I have a financial need, whether charitable or for donations. But the vast portion of my net worth is still tied up in Dell." He still holds more than nine million Dell shares . . .
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