Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman's Compensation Drops to $43.1 Million, Half of Prior Fiscal Year Earnings

NEW YORK -- Viacom president and CEO Philippe Dauman's compensation package for the latest fiscal year amounted to $43.1 million, only half the $84.5 million in the previous shortened fiscal year when he got a $22.6 million one-time option award and a bigger one-time stock award. That had made him the highest-paid entertainment industry CEO of last year and one of the highest-paid people in Corporate America.

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Even without the one-time factors, the confidant of executive chairman and controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone would have been one of the best-paid in the industry. 

Dauman's salary for the latest fiscal year ended September rose from $2.63 million to $3.50 million, and his cash bonus rose from $11.25 million to $20 million, according to a regulatory filing late Friday. It showed that his total compensation excluding one-time stock and option awards amounted to $40.0 million, up from $30.2 million in the previous fiscal year. In 2010, Viacom changed its fiscal year to end in September, so that fiscal year had only nine months.

Redstone's compensation in the latest fiscal year hit $21.0 million, a third higher than the slightly more than $15.0 million he had received in the previous year. His salary rose from $1.3 million to $1.75 million. His bonus nearly doubled from $5.6 million to $10 million.

Like Dauman, Viacom COO Tom Dooley also saw his compensation drop after big one-time awards in the previous year. He ended up earning nearly $34.1 million in the latest fiscal year, down 47 percent compared with $64.7 million.

The filing said Viacom's top executives ensured ”strong financial results while continuing to navigate economic challenges and positioning the company well for the future.”

Dauman used the Viacom aircraft for personal reasons more than his fellow top executives at the entertainment company. His personal use of aircraft amounted to $232,097 last fiscal year, compared with Dooley's $53,682 and Redstone's $26,096, according to the filing.

The use of car services by Dauman cost Viacom $15,084, with Redstone's costs for the company amounting to $4,859. "For security reasons, we provide Messrs. Redstone and Dauman with a shared car and driver in New York for use by them and other executives and provide Mr. Redstone with a car and driver in his hometown of Los Angeles," the company filing said. "The amount shown above for Mr. Redstone reflects our half of the incremental cost of his personal use of the car and driver; CBS Corporation reimburses us for the other half."

Redstone is also executive chairman and controlling shareholder of CBS Corp.

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai