eBay 2026 Proxy: exec pay & c-suite security costs up
eBay's 2026 proxy statement is out and to the surprise of nobody, the big wigs all got more money in 2025.
CEO Jamie Iannone's total compensation rose from ~$20.35M in 2024 to ~$28.46M in 2025. By comparison in 2025, the median eBay employee’s annual total compensation was ~$180,276, a ratio of ~158:1.
But more surprising to me at least was a significant increase in exec travel and security costs.
In 2024, costs for Iannone's travel and personal security benefits, included:
- $102,528 for personal airplane use, consisting of the aggregate incremental cost to the Company, including, primarily, fuel and engine maintenance costs (with no incremental costs when Mr. Iannone was accompanied by guests)
- $23,087 for security and IT support, based on the incremental cost paid to outside service providers.
That year, eBay also reported a total of $21,050 for company paid outside security and IT support costs for other names executive officers (NEOs).
In 2025, Iannone's costs surged to:
- $209,167 for personal airplane use, consisting of the aggregate incremental cost to the Company, including, primarily, fuel and engine maintenance costs (with no incremental costs when Mr. Iannone was accompanied by guests)
- $152,613 for security and IT support, based on the incremental cost paid to outside service providers.
And the total for the other NEOs also increased to $76,378.
The proxy statement does not provide any specific details as to why these costs increased so much in 2025, but the company's annual report did include the following statement on cybersecurity risks:
"We have seen an increase in attack sophistication, and future attacks are likely to be increasingly sophisticated and highly targeted, particularly due to rapid developments in AI. For example, hackers have unsuccessfully targeted us using an AI-generated voice impersonation of our CEO. We expect cyberattacks utilizing AI to continue and evolve."
That puts last week's massive tech disruption/rumored DDoS attack in an interesting light.
If I was an eBay investor, I might also be wondering how doubling Iannone's personal plane use fits with the company's broader environmental impact and ESG initiatives. 😉
Full statement from eBay's SEC filings for anyone interested:
https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001065088/b99b2b92-3813-42a1-949b-807cbbdd3efa.pdf
kibble-net
·3 months agoIncome inequality? Here, in the US of A? I am shocked, I say, SHOCKED!!!
frugalmarketplace
·3 months ago@kibble-net
Can you believe that? just shocking. 😳
chapeau-noir
·3 months agoWorker productivity has steadily gone up over the last decades, CEO productivity has not.
theteamsetguy
·3 months ago@valueaddedresource ,
That's nothing compared to what many athletes and entertainers make in a year. I would argue that running a big company like eBay is worth more and take more skill.
frugalmarketplace
·3 months agoAgree…however I don’t consider an athlete in the same category as a CEO…
frugalmarketplace
·3 months ago@valueaddedresource
I read that when it came out. Not any big surprise. The rich just get richer and the rest of us just keep peddling.
Frankly no one is worth that much money…and that is just the tip of the iceberg.
hartungcards
·3 months ago"Frankly no one is worth that much money…"
Unless you're Juan Soto.