The maker of Taser is the highest paid CEO, taking home $165 million—his new pay package and soaring stock made him a billionaire last year

• Rick Smith, CEO of AXON, topped the list of the most profitable CEOs, which was reported to reach $ 165 million Through stock incentives in his company, sell TASERS, Security Cameras, drones and VR training. Smith became a billionaire last year due to his compensation package, with a clear value of $ 2.5 billion. But the tragic background behind his $ 17 billion company, which paid its work spirit, may be partially wrong.

When imagining the highest paid executives, one may guess Jensen Huang, who leads NVIDIA, or Elon Musk, collects his multiple technical successes. But the Supreme Executive Director who takes home bacon is the head of Tasers.

Rick Smith, co -founder and CEO of Axon Enterprise, was the Supreme CEO driven in 2024, and a new report revealed.

According to WsjAXON CEO received a $ 165 million salary package last year – where the $ 89 million Larry Colle Group, 84 million dollars, and $ 75 million Tim Cook. Smith’s total salaries is a 999 % increase from his compensation in 2023, which increased dramatically since the renewal of a nervous axis compensation last year.

Axon Leader has managed the company since 1993, and it became a billionaire last year after the company changed the wage strategy. Smith said that it was an inspiration to launch the company – which manufactures TASERS, and expanded in security cameras, drones and VR to a large extent for government agencies – after two of his high school friends were shot. He saw devices that visit as a less lethal way to help end armed violence. But family members of the victims rejected his allegations.

High stocks and a wage of musk inspired to the billionaire status

While Smith tops the list of executives this year, he occupied the main headlines last year to increase billionaire with a very profitable salary strategy.

Last year, Axon classified the total compensation of the CEO after the Musk package in Tesla. Almost all his money lies in the stock awards – which have been rising over the past few years. Axon’s revenues grew by more than 30 % for three years, respectively, by 2024, as they were attempted in a record annual net income of $ 377 million. The shares of the company also multiplied more than twice in 2023, as they increased by more than 50 %. Along with the rest of its payment package, and finally made the Bloomberg Index of billionaires in 2024, with a net value of $ 2.5 billion.

This type of risk compensation, but also highly rewarding-if the Axon axes do not meet the stock price, operations targets, and the minimum service requirements for the years from 2024 to 2030, Smith does not receive the full payment package.

A spokesman for a nervous axis said luck The $ 165 million wage package “does not represent achieved salaries, but rather the potential value of the award if all performance features are achieved entirely over the life of the program.” the Wsj She stated that two of the seven performance goals in Akson were achieved by March, according to the company’s files.

The magazine analysis used data from Mylogiq, which is provided for public companies data, and included executives for the job for at least a year in more than 400 S&P 500 companies that are driven until mid -May for the financial years ending after June 30, 2024

However, there is one clear thing: Smith’s net value gathered with the company’s growth. In 2019, he received salaries of $ 246 million by growing stocks. Over the past year, the Axon share price increased by 160 %, which prompted the market value to $ 50 billion, and made the shares behind Smith’s bonuses worth about $ 500 million.

Inspiration for the establishment of the company in mysterious waters

The $ 17 billion company’s main spirit is to save lives – SMITH adopts Taser devices as a less lethal alternative to rifles. He repeatedly said that he got inspiring to find the company after the shooting of two high school friends in the football team. But the health of his tragic background has been asked.

Smith has long pushed this novel and the story of the law enforcement officers; Quoting this in a file with the American Securities and Stock Exchange Committee in 2020; And its operation in the company’s campaigns – including one celebrates the thirtieth anniversary of Axon. But the investigation is from Reuters Smith’s allegations have found it seemed wrong. She mentioned that Smith was not a close friend of the deceased, and cited incorrect details about the accident. A spokesman for a nervous axis Alex Angel said Reuters Smith got acquainted with the young people who are killed through “social events related to the team”.

One of the victim’s fathers accused Boxon of running a “full advertising campaign based on killing [his] Son. “The victim’s sister also said that Smith” earned money from being a big liar. “

Whether the CEO was an intimate friend or not with the shooting victims, a company spokesman said luck He stands beside his account that the tragic event inspired “to devote his life to reducing violence through technology.”

“We are proud of the culture that depends on the task in Acson and we are still focusing on the next work,” said a spokesman.ReutersReports, which they described as “a five -year crusade to discredit our company.”

This story was originally shown on Fortune.com

2025-06-03 17:18:00