Google billionaires squeak by on salary of $1.00

SAN FRANCISCO — The trio of billionaires who run Google collected less than $600,000 in combined compensation last year while they raked in big jackpots by selling some of their holdings in the online search leader.

The total amount that Google paid its chief executive, Eric Schmidt, and co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin during 2006 would have been less than $5,200 if not for personal security and transportation costs, according to documents filed Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Schmidt's package totaled $557,466, including $532,755 for personal security. Page's pay totaled $38,519, with most of the money covering personal transportation, logistics and security. Brin's 2006 pay consisted solely of a $1 salary and $1,723 bonus. Google paid the same salary and holiday bonus to Schmidt and Page.

The Associated Press bases its executive pay totals on salary, bonus, incentives, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year.

Schmidt, Page and Brin have refused to take anything more than a token paycheck for the past three years to promote the egalitarian spirit championed by Google. It's a sacrifice that the three executives can afford to make because Google's high-flying stock has elevated them into the ranks of the world's richest people. Meanwhile, hundreds of Google's early employees have become millionaires.

As of March 1, Page, 34, owned 29.2 million Google shares now worth $13.8 billion while Brin, 33, held 28.6 million shares worth about $13.5 billion. Schmidt, 51, owns 10.7 million shares now worth $5 billion.

The three men have been converting some of their holdings into cash by regularly selling some of their stockholdings since the company went public in August 2004.

Last year, Brin, Page and Schmidt made more than $2 billion combined from their Google stock sales, according to data compiled from SEC filings by Thomson Financial. Brin sold 1.99 million shares for a total windfall of $788 million last year while Page pocketed $666 million by selling 1.72 million shares. Schmidt cashed out 1.39 million shares during 2006 for a total $580 million.

Google's stock price rose by 11 percent last year, a gain that lagged the Standard & Poor's 500 index — a blue-chip bellwether that the company joined during 2006. The S&P 500 rose by 13.6 percent last year.

Since its IPO, Google shares have surged to a more than fivefold increase, a meteoric performance that has created more than $120 billion in shareholder wealth. Google shares fell $1.58 Wednesday to close at $471.02.

The rapid run-up in stock has been driven by its search engine, which has become synonymous with looking things up on the Internet. The search engine also propels a lucrative online advertising network that enabled Google to turn a 2006 profit of $3.1 billion, more than doubling its earnings from the previous year.

The robust growth has enabled Google to add more than 8,000 workers during the past three years. At the end of 2006, Google had 10,674 employees — all of whom were eligible for the same holiday bonus paid to Schmidt, Page and Brin.

Google's brain trust has already agreed to settle for a $1 salary again this year, rejecting an opportunity for a raise, according to the SEC filing.