Oracle Paid CEO Larry Ellison $70.1 Million Last Year as Targets Reached

Oracle Corp., the world’s second- biggest software company, paid Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison $70.1 million in total compensation for the past fiscal year, less than the $84.5 million he earned a year earlier.

Ellison agreed to lower his salary to $250,001, including benefits, as the company focused more on stock options and performance bonuses, Redwood City, California-based Oracle said today in a regulatory filing. His salary was $1 million the previous year.

Ellison, 66, remains one of the best-paid executives in Silicon Valley and is the sixth-richest man in the world, according to Forbes magazine. He has poured some of his money into the BMW Oracle sailing team, which won the America’s Cup this year. Ellison also attempted to purchase the Golden State Warriors basketball team, which went to another buyer.

Oracle gave Ellison $61.9 million in options, a $6.45 million bonus and $1.49 million in other compensation. His cash bonus was higher than his target because the company’s financial performance was superior to that of most rivals, Oracle said.

Ellison announced yesterday that he hired former Hewlett- Packard Co. CEO Mark Hurd to serve as Oracle’s president, alongside Safra Catz. HP sued Hurd today, saying the move would violate his nondisclosure agreement. Hurd was asked to resign from HP last month after an investigation found he tried to conceal a personal relationship with a contractor.

Catz, 48, earned a salary of $800,000 and total compensation of $36.4 million for the past fiscal year, which ended May 31.

Oracle rose $1.35, or 5.9 percent, to $24.27 today on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The shares have declined 1.1 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Joseph Galante in San Francisco at jgalante3@bloomberg.net

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Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle Corp

Kim White/Bloomberg

Larry Ellison, chief executive officer of Oracle Corp.

Larry Ellison, chief executive officer of Oracle Corp. Photographer: Kim White/Bloomberg

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- David Garrity, principal at GVA Research LLC, talks about Hewlett-Packard Co.'s decision suit against former Chief Executive Officer Mark Hurd, who was hired by Oracle Corp. as president, to force the executive to comply with agreements to protect confidential information. Oracle, the world's second-biggest software company, announced the hiring yesterday and said Hurd would serve as a board member, reporting to CEO Larry Ellison. Garrity talks with Carol Massar on Bloomberg Television's "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg)