Google Top Execs Get a 30 Percent Raise

It's not just the regular employees at Google that are getting a raise come next year, the company's top execs are getting a hefty 30 percent increase in their base salaries and some big chunks of Google stock. Four Google top level executives are going to make $650,000 next year compared to $500,000 in 2010.

"On November 8, 2010, the members of the Leadership Development and Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of Google Inc. (LDCC), approved an increase to the annual base salaries (effective as of January 1, 2011) of Google’s executive officers, after a review of performance and competitive market data, and as part of a broad-based review of the company’s compensation programs," the company said in a regulatory SEC filing.

The four execs to get the raise are Patrick Pichette, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Nikesh Arora, President, Global Sales & Business Development, Alan Eustace, Senior Vice President, Engineering & Research and Jonathan Rosenberg, Senior Vice President, Product Management.

Along with the base salary increase, they are all getting restricted stock awards. Pichette and Arora are getting $20 million, Eustace $10 million and Rosenberg $5 million in equity awards. The stock options are now awarded every year rather than once every two years as before, Google said.

The bonuses are getting an even bigger raise from 150 percent of the base salary to 250 percent. Half of the bonus will be based on how the company is doing and the other on individual performance.

The top three people at Google, cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, and CEO Eric Schmidt, will retain their $1 salary. They have not accepted any stock compensation and they will not receive any bonuses either.

This week, it was revealed that all Google employees were getting a 10 percent raise to their base salaries. Google is also trying to get more people to stick around, supposedly offering $3.5 million in stock to a staff engineer.