A number of top Fox Corp. executives have agreed to temporary salary cuts as the company deals with the impact of the coronavirus crisis.
Fox’s named executive officers, including CEO Lachlan Murdoch are giving up 100% of their base salaries from May 1 through Sept. 30.
The move is partly symbolic as top executives' salary is usually a fraction of their annual compensation packages. For example, Lachlan Murdoch’s annual salary is $5 million, which means he is forgoing about $2.8 million. But his total compensation last year was $42.1 million, including $23.1 million in stock awards, according to an SEC filing.
In December, Lachlan Murdoch bought himself a house in Los Angeles’s Bel Air neighborhood for $150 million. According to CNBC, the residence has 25,000 square feet with 11 bedrooms, 18 bathrooms, a 12,000-bottle wine cellar, a 75-foot swimming pool and acres of private garden and secret underground tunniels, making it a comfy place to quarantine.
For the same period, other key senior executives of the company are voluntarily agreeing to forgo 50% of their base salaries.
Executives at a number of other media companies, including Comcast and The Walt Disney Co. previously announced decisions to forgo salary during the crisis.
Other companies have instituted layoffs and furloughs of employees.
