274 million euros. This is what the CEO of Universal Music Group (UMG), Lucian Grainge, touched in 2021, according to the group’s annual report, in particular thanks to the sensational entry of UMG on the stock market. This amount is a record for the Netherlands, noted the Dutch daily “De Volkskrant” on Friday. “The remuneration of more than a quarter of a billion euros is the highest ever awarded to a president of a listed company based in the Netherlands”, writes the newspaper again.
Lucian Grainge, who arrived at the head of UMG in 2011, which he manages from Los Angeles, received a bonus of nearly 195 million euros for the successful IPO of UMG in 2021, the group said. in its annual report. The CEO received three other bonuses related to UMG’s IPO in Amsterdam, of 17.5 million, 20.9 million and 24.7 million euros respectively, in addition to a salary of basis of nearly 13.2 million euros and three million “other benefits”.
The world’s biggest major in the music industry, previously controlled by Vivendi, made a sensational debut in September last year on its first day of listing on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. The title of Universal had that day ended the day at 25.10 euros, or 35.68% above its introductory price, set at 18.50 euros the previous evening. On Friday, its value was still close to 25 euros.
A “vulgarly high” remuneration
The CEO’s compensation was described as “unDutch, disproportionate and vulgarly high” by Rients Abma of Eumedion, Dutch representative for institutional investors, quoted by De Volkskrant. According to UMG, the bonuses were paid by its parent company Vivendi, the French media company that took the music group public last year and is still a major shareholder.
According to the company, the extras rewarded the CEO for raising UMG’s value from $6 billion to $55 billion (50.4 billion euros) in the IPO. De Volkskrant estimates that Lucian Grainge earned 2,079 times more than an average UMG employee last year.
According to various Dutch media, the previous record was held by Bob van Dijk, head of technology investor Prosus, who had touched 38.6 million euros in 2019.