Summary:
Elon Musk has stated that the salaries of Twitter board members ‘will be $0’ if his takeover bid succeeds
Elon was responding to a Tweet suggesting that the Twitter Board members earn between $250k to $300k a year for a ‘part-time job’
The Twitter board, excluding Jack Dorsey, collectively owns 0.12% of the company, with Elon stating that their interests are not aligned with shareholders
In a Twitter commentary earlier today, Elon Musk stated that the Twitter board salaries would be $0 if his bid to take the company private succeeds. Furthermore, Elon pointed out that reducing the wages of the Twitter board members will save the company roughly 3 million dollars annually.
Board salary will be $0 if my bid succeeds, so that’s ~$3M/year saved right there
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 18, 2022
Elon Musk’s statement on the salaries was in response to another Tweet by the Managing Partner of The Future Fund LLC, Gary Black, who pointed out that the Twitter board took home between $250,000 to $300,000 annually for a ‘part-time job.’ Mr. Black further implied that the salary amount could explain why the Twitter board was so much against Elon Musk owning the company.
Gary Black believes that the Twitter board, in exemption of its founder Jack Dorsey, is ‘weak’ and likely has not rejected Elon’s offer. Additionally, the Twitter board was hoping to get higher bids with some directors wanting to keep their jobs as $250k per year was a good salary to keep.
Twitter Board Interests are Not Aligned With its Shareholders
In an earlier Tweet, Mr. Black had suggested that the Twitter board’s interests were not aligned with that of its shareholders. He said.
The $TWTR board’s interests aren’t aligned with TWTR shareholders. The board serves to represent shareholders. If they refuse to act in the best interest of [shareholders], they should be removed and replaced by new board members who understand their fiduciary obligations.
Elon Musk also echoed Gary Black’s opinion when he pointed out that the Twitter board ‘collectively owns almost no shares’ and ‘objectively, their economic interests are simply not aligned with shareholders.’
Elon Musk was referring to the following breakdown of shares owned by the Twitter board, according to which they own 0.12%, excluding Jack Dorsey’s 2.253%
% shares owned by Twitter board members. Source, @ChrisJBakke on Twitter
