Fired McDonald’s CEO Gets to Keep $37 Million in Stock Awards

Stephen Easterbrook also will get severance pay and benefits
New CEO Kempczinski will get $1.25 million salary and a bonus

Steve Easterbrook arrives for the Allen & Co. Media and Technology Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 10, 2019. — Steve Easterbrook arrives for the Allen & Co. Media and Technology Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 10, 2019.
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg

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By Anders Melin

November 4, 2019 at 3:28 PM UTC

Updated on

November 4, 2019 at 5:11 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Former McDonald’s Corp. Chief Executive Officer Stephen Easterbrook, who was fired for having a relationship with an employee, was allowed to keep stock awards worth more than $37 million as well as $675,000 severance and health insurance benefits.

Easterbrook, 52, will get to keep unvested stock options worth about $23.5 million and possibly benefit from grants of restricted shares tied to the company’s performance that are worth roughly $13.8 million at their target payouts, according to calculations by Bloomberg. He’s also eligible for a pro-rated bonus for his work in fiscal 2019.