Bits: Google’s Eric Schmidt Gets a Big Raise

 

Eric E. Schmidt’s new job as executive chairman of Google came with a very nice raise.

Odd Andersen/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Eric Schmidt will now make $1.25 million a year with a potential $6 million annual bonus.

Mr. Schmidt, who as chief executive of Google had been earning just $1 a year since 2005 (though his ownership stake in the company is worth several billion dollars), will now earn $1.25 million a year with a potential $6 million annual bonus, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday by Google.

That is on top of the $100 million in stock options that he was given as a parting gift in January, when Google announced that he would step down as chief executive in April. But those options vest only if he stays at the company until 2015.

Mr. Schmidt’s new salary and stock options might be as much of a thank-you gift as an incentive to stick around, amid rumors that he is being considered by President Obama for the role of commerce secretary. It could also be an acknowledgement that his biggest new responsibility — governmental relations — will be a tough one as an antitrust battle heats up.

His raise follows an earnings announcement that disappointed investors. Google’s expenses soared and its new chief executive, Larry Page, frustrated analysts by speaking only briefly and vaguely. Google’s stock price is down 10 percent since then.