Top 21st Century Fox executives saw their total compensation shrink in fiscal 2015, with chairman Rupert Murdoch dipping 4.5% and his son James weathering a 19.3% haircut, while top lieutenant, chief operating officer Chase Carey’s pay dipping 17.1%.
Rupert Murdoch’s total compensation was $27.9 million, down 4.5% from the $29.2 million he earned in fiscal 2014. James Murdoch, who received a big vote of confidence from his dad earlier in the year when he handed over the CEO reins to him in July, received $15.1 million in total comp, down from $18.7 in fiscal 2014. The difference for both men was in stock awards – Rupert Murdoch received $5.1 million in stock awards in fiscal 2015 compared to $6.3 million in the prior year. James received $5.4 million in stock awards in fiscal 2015, down from $6.6 million in fiscal 2014.
For Carey, who became executive vice chairman in July, fewer stock awards ($9 million vs. $11.1 million in fiscal 2014) helped drive down his total compensation to $23.2 million from $27.98 million in the prior year.
Senior executive vice president and chief financial officer John Nallen also took a hit, with his pay dipping 14.6% from $9.6 million to $8.2 million, mainly because of a lower stock award ($2.7 million vs. $3.1 million in the prior year). The only top executive to get a raise was senior executive vice president and general counsel Gerson Zweifach, who received a 48.3% increase to $8.6 million from $5.8 million in the prior year, primarily due to a larger stock award ($2.3 million vs. $276,352 in fiscal 2014).
