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‘Can You Defend It?’: CNBC Host Grills Moderna CEO On ‘Ridiculous’ Pay

[Screenshot CNBC Squawk Box]

Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
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CNBC’s Joe Kernen grilled Moderna’s CEO on Thursday about his salary.

Stephane Bancel exercised stock options in 2022, bringing his net income to roughly $393 million, The Washington Post reported. Bancel, whose salary as CEO is $1.5 million, reportedly has stock worth around $2.8 billion and an additional stock-based compensation valued at $1.7 billion. Bancel was given more than 4.5 million stock options in 2013, according to the report.

Kernen questioned Bancel on his salary.

“I have to ask you about your pay last year. We were talking earlier about … Alphabet CEO compared to you. I think you made about half of what, of what you made last year, but Stephane, you enter into an employment agreement with Moderna based on performance and if it comes out to $400 million, I’m not – for a year, on paper, that looks ridiculous. But it is what it is, I mean, what is your viewpoint on – how do you explain that to, you know, in a rising inequality world, how do you explain something like that? Can you defend it?”

“Let’s talk about the data, Joe. I think some of the media have not been reporting the data correctly. I was not paid $400 million last year. What I did last year, is I sold my first stock option that I got granted by the company in 2013. Why did I sell it? Because it is expiring this year, it is a 10-year grant and so it is a grant, I got 10 years ago, when we were starting the company,” Bancel said. (RELATED: ‘Have You Vaccinated Your Children?’: Rand Paul Grills Moderna CEO Over Adverse Vaccine Reactions)

“And it’s so much value because at the time, remember, Moderna valuation was maybe a couple hundred million dollars, not the company it is today. The other thing I have done is I have actually committed on the blog last May and gave an update essentially, after paying taxes, 100% of a gain of that grant has been granted- given to charity. I have no idea why the media is portraying my pay last year as more than $3-4 million. It is not accurate, it is my option, I use it, if not, it goes to zero value and we give everything to charity, 100%. So I don’t know what the topic is.”

Moderna has defended Bancel’s raise, saying it is “reflective of merit” and “appropriate in light of the increased scope of increasingly global responsibility for Moderna’s executives,” according to The Post.

Moderna has recently proposed quadrupling the cost of the COVID-19 vaccine, drawing rebuke from Republican Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy and Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.