Google pays Patrick Pichette, Nikesh Arora millions in bonuses

Google Inc will pay Finance Chief Patrick Pichette a $3 million annual bonus and Chief Business Officer Nikesh Arora a $3.5 million bonus, a slight increase from the previous year, following a year in which the Internet company's stock surged nearly 60 per cent.

Pichette and Arora each collected bonuses of $2.8 million last year.

Google Chief Executive Larry Page and co-founder Sergey Brin will receive no bonus, the company said on Monday in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, continuing the founders' practice of not taking a bonus.

Page and Brin, who are each paid a $1 a year in salary, have a large portion of their personal wealth tied directly to Google's stock.

Google's shares shot up 58 per cent in 2013, breaking the $1,000 mark for the first time and outpacing the Nasdaq's 38 per cent gain for the year.

In February, Google said it would pay Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt a $6 million discretionary cash bonus and awarded him $100 million in restricted stock units.

Google Chief Legal Officer and head of Corporate Development David Drummond will also receive a $3 million bonus, the search giant said. Drummond's bonus last year was $3.3 million.

Shares of Google finished Monday's regular session down 0.3 per cent, or $3.22, at $1,211.57.

(Reuters)