Sheldon Adelson, the chairman and chief executive of U.S.-based casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp, is to get a fivefold rise in base salary from the firm. That is according to a new employment agreement signed between both parties and disclosed in a Thursday company filing.
The new employment agreement is backdated to January 1, 2017, with an initial term that expires on December 31, 2021, Las Vegas Sands said. The contract is subject to automatic extensions for successive one-year periods unless “Mr Adelson gives notice of his intention not to renew the agreement, no later than 60 days prior to the expiration of the initial term and any renewal term.”
Under the employment agreement, Mr Adelson (pictured in a file photo) will receive an annual base salary of US$5 million – his previous annual wage was US$1 million. He also will be eligible under the new deal to receive an annual cash bonus subject to the company’s achievement of predetermined business targets: up to a ceiling of US$12.5 million per year.
According to Bloomberg, following the new employment contract, Mr Adelson will become the highest-paid chief executive in companies featured on the S&P 500 index.
Mr Adelson will also be entitled to receive an annual stock option grant to purchase shares of Las Vegas Sands common stock with a total grant value of US$1 million.
Las Vegas Sands is the parent company of Marina Bay Sands Pte Ltd, the owner and operator of casino resort Marina Bay Sands, in Singapore. The U.S.-based firm is also the parent of Hong Kong-listed Sands China Ltd, which controls several casino properties in Macau. Mr Adelson is chairman and chief executive of the latter company.
Under the new employment agreement, Mr Adelson is entitled to reimbursement of up to US$200,000 annually for “personal legal and tax preparation and/or financial planning fees and expenses”. He is also entitled to a car and a driver, use of a business jet, and security services for himself and his family.
Mr Adelson’s full-2016 compensation package rose 4.2 percent year-on-year, to just under US$12.71 million, from nearly US$12.19 million a year earlier, according to a Las Vegas Sands April filing. The remuneration included nearly US$3.43 million for security for Mr Adelson and his immediate family.
Mr Adelson’s non-equity incentive plan compensation for 2016 fell by 9.4 percent, to nearly US$4.34 million, compared to nearly US$4.79 million in 2015. But his 2016 package included stock awards with grant date fair value of nearly US$1.82 million, a rise of 47.9 percent on the nearly US$1.23 million of such options in Mr Adelson’s 2015 package.
