Mario J. Gabelli is more likely to be listed among the United States’ best-known money managers than among its highest-paid chief executives. But that is not because he does not qualify for both lists. He does.
Indeed, Mr. Gabelli belongs on a short list of chief executives of public companies who have raked in more than $750 million in total compensation. That’s right: more than three-quarters of a billion dollars.
But there will probably not be any uproar from the shareholders of Gamco Investors at the company’s annual meeting next week at a yacht club in Greenwich, Conn. One reason is that Mr. Gabelli controls Gamco, an investment firm based in Rye, N.Y., because he owns almost all of its Class B shares.
On Thursday, the company announced a plan to share some of its success with those less fortunate by pledging to donate 25 cents a share to charities designated by each shareholder. Gamco said the contributions could exceed $5 million â€" no small sum, unless you compare it with how much Mr. Gabelli has been making.
Last year alone, he was paid almost $69 million as the chairman and chief executive of Gamco. But that was not his best year. He took home almost $71 million in 2007. And in 2002, he received a $50 million payout that increased the amount he collected that year to $87.7 million.
All told, since he took his company public in early 1999, Mr. Gabelli has been paid nearly $777 million, an average of $55.5 million a year.
Most years, a few other chief executives have reaped more than Mr. Gabelli, but even fewer, if any, have received so much, year in and year out, for so long.
His recipe for riches has been a compensation arrangement that resembles that of a hedge fund manager. He collects no base salary or bonus but takes 10 percent of the company’s pretax profits as well as fees for attracting investors and managing funds.
The company declined to discuss Mr. Gabelli’s compensation.
Now 70, Mr. Gabelli has not indicated that he is contemplating an exit strategy, though the shareholders will decide next week whether to consider reclassifying his shares. The proposal in the proxy statement suggests each of his 19.5 million shares might be converted into 1.25 shares of Class A stock, giving him close to 80 percent of all the outstanding shares and making it easier for him to pare his holdings.
At the current share price of about $50, his stake is worth more than $1 billion.
