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Yahoo's new chief could take home $27 million this year

The Web giant discloses its compensation for incoming CEO Scott Thompson, which includes hefty sums to cover pay he will forgo by leaving eBay.

Jay Greene Former Staff Writer
Jay Greene, a CNET senior writer, works from Seattle and focuses on investigations and analysis. He's a former Seattle bureau chief for BusinessWeek and author of the book "Design Is How It Works: How the Smartest Companies Turn Products into Icons" (Penguin/Portfolio).
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Jay Greene

Incoming Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson will get a $1 million salary this year, plus another $1.5 million cash bonus and stock awards that could be worth as much as $22.5 million, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing the company made this afternoon.

Thompson, who Yahoo introduced as its new CEO on Wednesday, is also eligible for a $2 million bonus, bringing his total potential payday to $27 million.

Yahoo's Scott Thompson

According to the filing, Thompson will receive an annual grant next month with a target value of $11 million. The company will also pay him a so-called "inducement grant" with a value of $5 million.

On top of that pay, Yahoo is also compensating Thompson for money and equity that he gave up by leaving eBay for the Yahoo job. That includes the $1.5 million cash bonus, and restricted stock with a value of $6.5 million.

The filing also notes that Thompson is eligible to participate in Yahoo's senior executive benefit programs, including health insurance, life and disability insurance, the Employee Stock Purchase Plan, 401(k) plan, and a Flexible Spending Plan. And he gets four weeks of vacation a year.