The CEOs of Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna, Albert Burla, Ugur Sahin and Stefan Bansel, respectively, together earned more than $ 100 million in pay during the pandemic (2020-21), thanks to huge scientific success. of their coronavirus mRNA vaccines.
The three leaders have also seen the value of the shares they hold in their companies soar over the past two years thanks to the sharp rise in their stock market prices, a product of the investment enthusiasm for these leading companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, according to relevant article in the Financial Times. The share of Pfizer, which was already a colossus before the pandemic, has risen by about 60% in the last 24 months, while the value of the shares of the smaller and smaller companies BioNTech and Moderna has tripled and increased fivefold respectively.
Bansel and Sahin have become billionaires, holding 7.8% of Moderna and 17.1% of BioNTech, shares worth about $ 5.4 billion and $ 7.8 billion respectively. The vaccine Pfizer / BioNTech brought in $ 37.5 billion in revenue in 2021 and Moderna $ 17 billion, according to estimates by analyst firm Airfinity.
The analysis of the “pay packages” for 2020 and 2021 shows that the Greek-born head of Pfizer ‘Albert Burla was one of the three highest-earning in the midst of a pandemic, receiving $ 45.3 million for the two years of the pandemic, compared to $ 27.7 million in the pre-pandemic period 2018-19 (Burla became CEO) Officer of the company in January 2019, promoted from the position of COO-Chief Operation Officer he held before). Pfizer said Burla’s “bonus” is appropriate based on his outstanding leadership skills, his focus on a long-term strategy and his contribution to the company’s performance in 2021.
Sahin, of Turkish-German descent, received $ 30.8 million in salaries in the two years 2020-21 against $ 8.5 million in 2018-19. Bansel appears to be losing, as his salary seems to have dropped from $ 67.5 million in 2018-19 to $ 31.1 million in 2020-21, but this is due to the fact that Moderna is listed on the stock exchange in 2018 had earned him an extraordinary one-time profit of $ 58.6 million from a share option.
The total remuneration of the three CEOs who developed the mRNA vaccines increased to a total of $ 107.2 million in 2020-21 compared to $ 103.7 million in 2018-19. Analysts point out that this reflects the huge profits that the new type of vaccines have brought to the three companies, with the result that the salaries of executives in the biopharmaceutical sector are now closer to those of other highly paid managers, such as in the banking-financial sector.
According to the High Pay Center in London, the leaders of the leading Wall Street banks are JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and others. earn more than the heads of pharmaceuticals (at least $ 30 million a year), but the “gap” gradually tends to close.
There is no shortage of high-paying criticism and criticism that vaccine makers – and their managers – have “treasured” in the midst of a pandemic, without doing enough to ensure poor countries have access to cheap vaccines. “Banchel, Burla and other vaccine kings have built a royal fortune thanks to their monopoly business model that has led to a vaccine apartheid,” said Steve Nevel of Public Citizen.
On the other hand, shareholders and investors, who have also benefited the most, do not seem to care about the high salaries of the managers of the pharmaceutical companies. “Most investors have no problem getting CEOs well paid, especially when they have led to such an increase in the stock value of their companies,” said Jefferies Investment Bank analyst Akas Teguari.
In addition to their remuneration, CEOs have benefited from the sale of their shares. Bansel has been selling shares since January 2020 Moderna worth $ 404 million, according to Verity. Burla sold $ 5.6 million worth of shares on the same day that Pfizer and BioNTech announced that their vaccine was 90% effective against Covid-19. Sahin has not yet made significant stock sales.
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