Not all of the biggest compensation payments in Canada shows up on our pay chart. Here are other big paydays in 2014:
1. Gerry Schwartz, CEO Onex Corp., $59-million (U.S.)
In addition to the $19-million Mr. Schwartz was paid directly in 2014, he also took home a further $40-million in payouts from his ownership stake in Onex-managed investments. And other Onex executives were also at the top of pay charts last year, with senior managing director Seth Mersky, for example, earning $23-million directly and a further $9-million from his investments in Onex funds for a total of $32-million.
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2. Gerry McCaughey, retired CEO CIBC, $53.6-million (Canadian)
Mr. McCaughey took home $10.6-million directly last year, but he also received a $43-million payout upon his retirement from a 15-year-old special share unit program created to reward long-gone merchant banking investments in companies such as Global Crossing Ltd. He was the last remaining executive at CIBC to hold share units under the program. On top of the payout in 2014, the bank revealed he also will be paid an additional $16.7-million over the next two years in special post-retirement payments.
3. Ari Kellen, executive vice-president, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, $50.6-million (U.S.)
Mr. Kellen, who joined Valeant in 2014, was among several top executives who out-earned CEO Michael Pearson last year. Mr. Kellen's $50.6-million pay total included $43-million in stock awards and a $5-million bonus. Executive vice-president Howard Schiller earned $27-million last year while executive vice-president Robert Chai-Onn took home $24-million.
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4. Thorsten Heins, former CEO BlackBerry Ltd., $49.7-million (U.S.)
All eyes were on the pay awarded to incoming BlackBerry CEO John Chen during the company's fiscal 2014 year, ended March 1, but Mr. Heins was also awarded a huge $49.7-million in compensation. However, the total disclosed on BlackBerry's pay chart gives a misleading impression because Mr. Heins forfeited $33.7-million worth of new share units on his departure that had been granted to him earlier in the year.