Being hired and fired by Yahoo proved exceptionally lucrative for its former COO as the company sent Henrique De Castro on his way in Janaury with $54 million, but this is not the first time an exec has received millions for leaving a job.
The same holds true of holding a top spot at many major corporations and then either retiring or being forced out. De Castro, Yahoo's former chief operating officer, is the latest member of this select and lucky club and his package is not close to some of the deals issued in the past.
A Securities and Exchange Commission filing has revealed that De Castro was given a $58 million severance package after he was fired in January following just 15 months on the job. De Castro was brought in from Google by CEO Marissa Mayer in 2012, but she decided that he was not helping implement her plan for reviving the company and decided to let him go.
"The Board believed at the time Mr. de Castro was hired that he had a unique set of highly valuable skills and experiences that would be key to returning the Company to long-term growth and success," the company said in its filing as it explained why Yahoo spent millions recruiting De Castro in the first place.
The package includes cash and stock, most of which was agreed upon when he initially took the position. Including the latter proved a huge plus for De Castro as Yahoo's stock more than doubled during his tenure. The package was worth an estimated $17 million the day he came on board, but the stock performance boosted that to its final amount.
De Castro is hardly the first person to receive such a golden parachute, nor is he even close when it comes to the amount being paid off to leave a company.
Recently, Time Warner Cable CEO Robert Marcus was offered $79.8 billion after the company agreed to be bought out by Comcast. This outlay still has to be given the thumbs up by company shareholders.
Even Marcus' pay day pales in comparison with others that have been given out over the years. While not all these executives were forced out their position and many had worked at their former corporations for decades, the amounts given to them as they walked out the door are staggering.
Former General Electric CEO Jack Welch tops the list with a payout of $417,361,902 for his 20 years of service. Not far behind is Exxon Mobile's Lee Raymond, who took away $320.6 million for 12 years of work. IBM's Lou Gerstner spent nine years at the helm of Big Blue, which was worth a tidy $189 million, while four years of toil at Gillette was worth $164.5 million to James Kilts.
