Dish Network chairman Charlie Ergen, long one of the lowest paid CEOs in the media industry, broke that mold Friday after the satellite giant revealed the executive received his biggest payday yet, $94.8 million, fueled mainly by one time stock options, according to its annual proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Ergen, whose 2020 base salary was 11% lower at $888,000 than the $1 million he received in the prior year, made up that difference and more with option awards of $91.9 million. Overall, including nearly $2 million in “other compensation,” Ergen received $94.8 million, nearly 40 times the $2.4 million he received in 2019.
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Dish CEO Erik Carlson ended 2020 with $3.3 million in total compensation, more than three-times the $1 million he received in 2019. Option awards of $2.4 million fueled most of that growth.
Executive VP and chief financial officer Paul Orban’s total compensation fell to $1.1 million from $1.6 million in the prior year. Dish chief operating officer, executive VP and group president retail wireless John Swieringa’s compensation was down slightly in 2020 to $1 million from $1.02 million in the prior year.
