Ultra-High Compensation

Wang Ye's appointment as chairman of the Yukos Group was decided directly at the board meeting.

None of the shareholder representatives objected. Once this board meeting was over, headquarters would issue a notice to all group employees, and that would be that.

There were no plans for any ceremony. After all, the group was facing a major crisis, and both Khovchenko and Wang Ye wanted to keep a low profile.

However, now that he was chairman, the corresponding compensation package needed to be discussed and finalized by the shareholder representatives.

This differed from when Khovchenko had served as chairman.

As far as Wang Ye knew, Khovchenko's salary had not been high—just an annual salary of two million US dollars, lower even than the annual salaries of several group vice presidents.

Of course, it was not that Khovchenko was "devoted to the cause without asking for anything in return," but because personal compensation was subject to hefty taxes. The higher the income, the higher the tax rate...

For super-rich people like them, they generally took relatively modest salaries, then avoided high taxes through dividends, bonuses, and other means.

In fact, personal income tax in Russia was not particularly high, with only two brackets: 13% and 15%.

Those with annual incomes below five million Rubles paid a flat 13%.

Still, savings were savings. Khovchenko could receive as much as two or three billion US dollars in dividends every year. Paying a 15% tax on that would hurt quite a bit.

They would use all sorts of methods to legally minimize their taxes.

Khovchenko's annual salary of two million US dollars was therefore fairly reasonable.

People like Steve Jobs, Richard Liu, and Elon Musk, who took annual salaries of one US dollar, honestly looked a little too calculating.

The reason Khovchenko took such