Rupert Murdoch Gets Huge Salary Raise, Bonus Even After Phone Hacking Scandal

Murdoch's Unbelievable Pay Raise

Even as his company weathers its biggest crisis ever, Rupert Murdoch is still pulling in a huge salary from News Corp.

Regulatory filings released on Friday showed that Murdoch's total compensation for the 2011 fiscal year was $33.3 million. As technology writer Peter Kafka noted, this included a $12.5 million bonus. Murdoch also received $8.5 million in stock.

In total, Murdoch's salary increased by 47 percent -- an impressive feat for a man presiding over a huge, lingering international scandal.

Murdoch's son James -- who has been even more deeply implicated in the scandal than his father -- received a far heftier spike in his compensation. James was awarded a $6 million bonus, and his total salary was $17.9 million. That's a whopping 73 percent rise.

The report came as News Corp. announced that it was shuffling its board of directors, though the company denied that the changes were occurring as a result of the hacking scandal.

UPDATE: James Murdoch issued a statement Friday saying he would decline the bonus "in light of the current controversy surrounding News of the World." Rupert Murdoch is apparently keeping his bonus.

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