Jon Rubinstein's new salary: $850,000 per year, Pre-tax
By Thomas Ricker 
posted June 12th 2009 6:35AM
posted June 12th 2009 6:35AM
The Palm Pre might not be a million dollar idea, but it's close. It'll bag Jon Rubinstein, Palm's new CEO, a cool $850,000 in salary each year according to Palm's Form 8-K just released. Pretty weak sauce for corporate CEOs until you factor in his 100% annual bonus eligibility and stock option grant of 430,000 shares vested monthly over the next 4 years. Given that Rubinstein has been credited with saving Palm from itself, we'd say he's worth every penny. Former CEO Ed Colligan, on the other hand, the man who laughed off the iPhone in November 2006 saying, "PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They're not going to just walk in," will receive $1.2 million just for leaving the seat warm upon exit.
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The pre is a nice piece of hardware, but one device not a company make. Take for instance the RAXR which brought Motorolla out of the doldrums yet they could not muster another device to keep the momentum rolling and shot themselves in the foot. History repeats itself.
have you seen and tried it?
I'd say its a nice piece of software but not so nice a piece of hardware.
Holding it it felt cheap and fragile when I was sliding the keyboard down. I am not used to phones with qwerty keyboards but I tried this one and I definitely think the iphone keyboard is easier to use for most (I guess some people will disagree) as the size of the keys are better (I have to note here that I have regular to skinny fingers not big paws). The edge of the bottom part of the keyboard is really sharp (when I read about it in a review I hardly believed it but it is true).
On the other hand the software was really nice. As an iphone developer I am waiting a while to see how the sdk will look like and will probably buy and rewrite my app for the next webos device.
he didn't develop a nice piece of hardware, he developed a new OS. big diff.
>_> rich people...over paid rich people.
you're only overpaid if you're paid more than the company that employs you earns off your work. take a look at the palm stock for the last year and then come back w/ the overpaid comment
Salary that high is riduculous.... only because his bonus and stock options will amount to multiples of his salary.
If only RIM would have hired him....
Why is it that such envy is displayed on posts like these? The Pre has almost singlehandedly refreshed Palm's significance on the marketplace, at least so far. This guy has become a godsend to the company and nobody who is commenting has paid a DIME to that salary from their own pocket. Leave the individual alone. I don't doubt you would love to be rich at some point.
The concern I see here is that none of those expressing hatred for those who have worked all their lives for such a prestigious position EVER express hatred for the do-nothing and thieving imbeciles in Washington. Think about your outrage for a moment, those in Washington are employed by YOU, YOU pay them, they waste YOUR money on useless, pandering, and idiotic bills that are hundreds of pages long full of garbage spending that should not be saddled on you or your children. Many of these bills has 'room for interpretation' so more money can be spent without much due process. This guy has NO effect on your lives other than helping to lower the costs for the more expensive technology that you want by purchasing it first. These 'rich people' are extraordinarily beneficial to the economy and advancement of technologies and science. THEY fund research and other progress in society.
Bottom Line: YOU employ the government, they waste YOUR money...PALM pays this guy, and surprise surprise, THEIR profits grow. Tell me now which is the better option...wasteful spending, or economic growth?
whoever came up with the "pre-tax" joke deserves the $850k a Year salary.
The most generous part of his package is the fact that his options vest monthly, so he can start selling off palm stock. Most companies don't vest options monthly.
Anyways his salary isn't even that high compared to the other execs out there. Salary caps sound great except all it would mean is that everyone who is already super ridiculously filthy rich would be the only people who'll ever be super ridiculously filthy rich-they'll keep making money on their investments and nobody else will ever be able to get up there, which sounds pretty lame.
And no you don't really need that much money but it's still nice to be able to dream ;)
Congratulations to Señor Rubinstein for the fine accomplishment. Are there are any former-NeXT employees who didn't turn out to be amazing, visionary geniuses and technical marvels?
Quite a track record so far!
I hope it is many years away, but I think we are looking at Apple's next CEO.
Probably been said before but...
"PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They're not going to just walk in,"
Pc guys won't figure this out but Mac guys will!
way too much money IMO. Most average people work their asses off everyday and only get around 30k to 40k a year. And yet you have CEO's making this much money who do way less physical work. This is sad.....