CEO Gives Back $2 Million Bonus Because 'He Does Not Believe That He Should Receive Such An Award'

Executive bonuses often get ridiculous. 

In light of that, Plum Creek Timber Co. CEO Rick Holley just did something quite admirable.

He gave back 44,445 restricted-stock units, worth nearly $2 million. 

According to a regulatory filing, "Mr. Holley elected to return the restricted stock units because he does not believe that he should receive such an award unless Plum Creek's stockholders see an increase in their investment return." 

Plum Creek has hit some choppy water. 

As observed by Dan Primack on Fortune, the timber company has had flat revenue for two years, with net income expected to fall this fiscal year.

"It's hard to remember the last time a CEO voluntarily gave up stock as a sort of apologia to disappointed investors," Primack says. 

If executives do anything with their bonuses other than squirrel them away, they often redistribute the money to their hardworking teams as a massive high five. 

In 2013, for example, Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing shared $3.25 million of his bonus with employees — equivalent to a month's salary for many Chinese workers — as a toast to the company's setting sales records two years in a row.

That same year, Next CEO Lord Wolfson gave his $3.7 million bonus to his employees as "a gesture of thanks and appreciation from the company for the hard work and commitment you have given to Next over the past three years and through some very tough times."

If Plum Creek can turn it around, maybe Holley can use his bonus for a celebratory share, too. 

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Drake Baer

Editor-at-Large

Drake Baer is Insider's first editor-at-large, working across the newsroom to help produce ambitious journalism.  For two and a half years before that, Baer served as deputy editor, overseeing a team of 20+ reporters and editors who cover the future of work, real estate, and small business. The fast-paced team was behind some of Insider's major packages in the last few years, including a state-by-state look into unemployment during the first year of the pandemic and in-depth profiles of "niche famous" characters such as real estate media tycoon Brandon Turner and HR icon Johnny C Taylor. They shed new light on big names, like Joe Biden, America's imperfect leader. He also cultivated thesis-oriented ideas journalism, whether it be on why "'diversity' and 'inclusion' are the emptiest words in corporate America" or why it's actually a horrible time to buy a house. (No, really, it is.)  Before editing, his byline as a reporter was on the masthead for Fast Company and New York Magazine, covering the many intersections of social science, business, and economics. Baer has interviewed some our time's leading minds, including philanthropist Bill Gates, FiveThirtyEight founder Nate Silver, NBA champion and investor Steph Curry, "growth mindset" psychologist Carol Dweck, the rapper Q-Tip, Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman, and the man who gave a name to "disruptive innovation," the late Clay Christensen. Baer has published two books, the most recent being Perception: How Our Bodies Shape Our Minds, with Dennis Proffitt. In 2014, New York Times bestselling author and Wharton professor Adam Grant highlighted his first book, Everything Connects, as one of the 12 business books to read that year. He has been featured as a speaker at the Aspen Ideas Festival, presented at TedX Princeton, and moderated many panels.   Fun facts? He's meditated every day for over a decade, except for the days he hasn't. He circumnavigated the globe before turning 25. He loves and can advocate for just about every food except grapefruit. And at 35, he is just now learning to draw.

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