Prudential CEO Got $18M in 2007

Much of the increase for former CEO Arthur F. Ryan, who retires as chairman in May, came from stock and option awards of $9.28 million granted Feb. 13, 2007, a nearly 20 percent gain from 2006.

Ryan, 65, also got $1 million in salary, the same as he received in 2006, and a $7.5 million bonus paid last month for his performance in 2007, the Newark-based company said in a filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The bonus was up 19 percent from the $6.3 million received last year.

Ryan had $244,457 in miscellaneous compensation, which included $154,360 in dividend equivalents, which Prudential said were paid for shares awarded before 2007 at the same rate as dividends paid to all shareholders.

The miscellaneous compensation also included $52,943 for home security and company-provided vehicles for personal and commuting purposes; $31,000 for a retirement plan; and $6,154 for a savings plan.

Ryan, who had been chairman and CEO since he joined Prudential in December 1994, was replaced as CEO on Jan. 1 by vice chairman John R. Strangfeld Jr. He has worked at Newark-based Prudential since 1977 and will succeed Ryan as chairman in May.

Strangfeld, 54, received compensation totaling $8.45 million in 2007, according to the proxy filing. His salary was $600,000, same as in 2006, and his bonus was $4.4 million, up nearly 16 percent from $3.8 million in 2006. His stock and option awards totaled $3.34 million.

The Associated Press calculations of total pay include executives salary, bonus, incentives, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year.

The calculations don't include changes in the present value of pension benefits, and they sometimes differ from the totals companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Prudential executives did not receive any above-market returns, the company reported.