The rich get richer
Nabors Industries' Gene Isenberg hits the jackpot with $100 million payout forstepping aside
This little tidbit will give Occupy Wall Street more reason to dig in their heels and bang those drums all the louder: For relinquishing his position as CEO of oil field giant Nabors Industries on Friday, Gene Isenberg will receive $100 million in cash, according to Bloomberg.
Isenberg has been chariman and CEO of the Houston-based company, which operates more than 1,200 oil rigs worldwide, since 1987. According to the Houston Chronicle's accounting of the city's highest paid executives, Isenberg came in 10th in 2010 with a total compensation package worth more than $13.5 million.
The $100 million payday is already causing waves, as Bloomberg reports. “We believe the compensation to Mr. Isenberg is excessive,” Jeff Dietert, an analyst at Simmons & Co. in Houston, wrote Monday in a note to investors. A $100 million payment “for what we view as essentially retiring will be offensive to some.”
Well-known philanthropist and community leader Tony Petrello, Nabors president, takes over as CEO. Isenberg continues in his posittion as chairman.
Unlike other H-Town corporate leaders, Isenberg has remained below the radar for the most part in Houston social circles.