Angle down icon An icon within the form of an angle pointing down. Steve Huffman receives a set wage of $341,346 and the remainder of his compensation in shares. Bryan Steffy/Getty Reddit CEO Steve Huffman mentioned his compensation package deal in a video Q&A posted on the discussion board.The CEO’s $193 million pay package deal consists of a mixture of wage and inventory.Reddit is concentrating on a $6.4 billion valuation because it strikes to go public later this week. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman has obtained backlash over his $193 million compensation.Ever since phrase bought out about Huffman’s pay, customers on Quora, Reddit, and X have criticized the package deal. Some really feel the quantity is just too excessive for a platform that does not pay moderators or customers — and for a corporation that hasn’t been worthwhile so far.”The texture good second of concurrently revealing your CEO is overpaid whereas your danger evaluation underscores the necessary of unpaid moderators,” one person wrote in a dialogue publish in regards to the matter on Reddit.Huffman went on the platform he cofounded to defend his pay in a video Q&A. “Look, I am glad this query was requested as a result of there’s been a number of commentary on this matter,” Huffman mentioned.The CEO mentioned his compensation relies on wage and inventory, and Reddit board members set the quantity based mostly on his efficiency.In response to an SEC submitting, Huffman bought a wage of $341,346 in 2023, which is comparatively low for a CEO of a significant public company. In February, this was raised to $550,000. He additionally bought a $792,000 bonus final 12 months based mostly on Reddit person numbers, income, and a kind of profitability referred to as adjusted EBITDA that excludes sure bills. The majority of his compensation package deal is now in restricted inventory items and inventory choices. Loads of this compensation relies on Huffman staying at Reddit by means of late 2028, and a few is triggered based mostly on finishing the IPO, in response to the SEC submitting. Half of the inventory choices vest at $25.29, a comparatively straightforward bar to achieve. The opposite half solely vest if Reddit shares attain $45, $60, and $90 in public market buying and selling over 10 years, the SEC submitting explains. That is a better bar and aligns the CEO’s pursuits with shareholders. A “huge grant” late final yearHuffman mentioned within the video that his “huge grant on the finish of 2023” was a results of the board canceling current inventory awards after which granting him this new fairness package deal. “They did this to simplify issues for each the corporate and me and align my efficiency with the corporate’s efficiency. A few of the inventory vests at IPO,” the CEO added.Nonetheless, the SEC submitting additionally states that a few of Huffman’s earlier performance-based RSU award was cancelled as a result of the grants have been “not offering the inducement initially supposed.” Reddit went on to say that it cancelled most of the “PRSUs for which efficiency had not already been achieved.” Huffman already owns Reddit stockIn addition, Huffman already owns about 3.2% of Reddit. The corporate is concentrating on a $6.4 billion valuation for its upcoming IPO this week. So the CEO’s stake might be price about $200 million, even earlier than his new fairness compensation begins to kick in. Reddit and its traders plan to promote 22 million shares and they’re concentrating on an IPO worth of $31 to $34.Zuckerberg versus ElonIn distinction, Meta cofounder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg will get a $1 annual wage, and was awarded no bonus and nil fairness awards in 2020, 2021 and 2020, in response to Meta’s newest annual proxy submitting. Meta pays greater than $20 million a 12 months to cowl Zuckerberg’s safety and use of a non-public jet. And, in fact, he owns a significant stake within the firm, so if his efficiency improves, Meta shares ought to rise, making him extra rich. The corporate additionally began issuing dividends, which implies Zuckerberg collects tons of of million of {dollars} a 12 months from these payouts. Elon Musk is on the opposite finish of the spectrum. His pay package deal at Tesla was valued at greater than $50 billion. A Delaware decide just lately struck down this compensation. Huffman’s possibilities of getting even richerBack at Reddit, it is unlikely that Huffman will get $193 million in compensation. That is an estimate the corporate has to make for regulatory and disclosure functions. It is based mostly on the estimated honest worth of the package deal on a sure date. His new RSUs vest in installments by means of late 2028, and the inventory choices might be exercised over 10 years, however provided that Reddit shares maintain up after which go larger. Both method, Huffman is already extremely rich and has an opportunity to turn into even richer as Reddit goes public.