In the one linked above, we learned yesterday that Six Flags CEO Mark Shapiro could get a $3 million bonus if the chain successfully renegotiates its crushing debt burden. Shapiro would get the bonus if Six Flags restructures the debt on its own, or if the debt is restructured as a result of filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
So if the chain goes bankrupt, and emerges from bankruptcy, Shapiro gets an extra $3 million, on top of his $1.3 million annual salary.
To be fair, the chain does have to emerge from bankruptcy for Shapiro to get the cash. If Six Flags goes belly up, no bonus. But still. While I think Shapiro deserves a hefty bonus if he can continue Six Flags' turnaround while staying out of bankruptcy court, it seems just wrong to me to be rewarding corporate executives for anything when their firms end up in bankruptcy.
Bloomberg also has some reaction to this so-called "success bonus."
Tweet
I am actual suprised he gets so little money as the head of a major theme park company. I wonder what the execs at Disney, Busch, and Univesal make. I know 1.3 is alot, but in comparision to others?
It is rather sad that a board would include a clause like that in the contract. The American way I guess.
This is just another addition to some of the recent stupidity of the theme park world. Ridiculous lawsuits, rewarding laziness, and unfair copyright infringement issues. What next?
This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.
I can understand rewarding him if he turns things around without resorting to bankruptcy, but come on. Giving him a bonus worth nearly 3x his annual salary for taking the easier route and relying on a bounce-back?
I'd like to have sat through the meeting where corporate made this decision. There must be some reasoning I'm not thinking of.