Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s compensation for 2023 totaled $29.2 million, down 12% from the previous year. This decrease was primarily due to the decline in Amazon’s share price in 2022 and the fact that Jassy had fewer shares vest in 2023. Jassy’s base pay rose 15% to $365,000 in 2023, and he realized $27.8 million from shares that vested during the year. Amazon also spent nearly $1 million on security costs for the CEO in 2023.
The disclosed figures are Jassy’s realized compensation, meaning the value of compensation he received during the year. This differs from SEC-prescribed compensation calculations, which take into account the year-over-year change in the value of shares granted to the executive. According to the SEC’s method, known as “Compensation Actually Paid,” Jassy’s compensation for 2023 was $109.6 million, mostly due to an increase in the value of shares that hadn’t vested by the end of the year. In comparison, Jassy’s compensation in 2022 was reported as a negative $147.7 million, reflecting the decline in Amazon’s shares.
Jassy’s compensation has been under scrutiny since he received a one-time special stock award upon becoming CEO in 2021, valued at nearly $212 million. The stock vests over a 10-year period, with most of it vesting between five and 10 years after Jassy became CEO. Shareholders have questioned why the vesting of Jassy’s stock-based compensation wasn’t tied to specific performance goals. In 2022, less than 56% of votes cast in an advisory vote on executive pay supported the company’s compensation of named executive officers.
Institutional Shareholder Services criticized the stock award to Jassy as excessive and lacking in connection to objective performance criteria. Amazon’s board has stated that the special stock award was intended to represent most of Jassy’s compensation in the coming years. Jassy did not receive additional stock awards in 2022 or 2023. Amazon has indicated that Jassy’s compensation aligns with the company’s long-term stock price performance.
Fortune reported that many Amazon senior managers and leaders will not receive cash raises in 2023. The increase in Jassy’s base pay coincided with a prior increase in base pay for Amazon executives. Jassy’s compensation will continue to be a topic of discussion among investors and shareholders, particularly in relation to the performance criteria tied to his stock awards and his overall alignment with the company’s long-term goals.
