The year 2001 was a tough year for many media companies because of the recession, but
Viacom Inc.'s top two executives did pretty well in the pay department. Not as
good as 2000, but almost.
According to the company's Securities and Exchange Commission proxy statement, filed April 12, last year, both
CEO Sumner Redstone and chief operating officer Mel Karmazin earned $3.3 million in salary and $12
million bonuses. In both cases, the bonuses were down $3 million but the
salaries were up almost $1.3 million, giving both executives salary/bonus
packages of $15.3 million, down from about $17.2 million in 2000.
Chief financial officer Richard Bressler, who joined the company in 2001, earned $767,694 in
salary and a $5 million bonus.
Meanwhile, Viacom revenues were flat on a pro-forma basis for the year, while
cash flow was up 2 percent.
