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CEOs\u2019 cups runneth over, largely because they\u2019re serving themselves. And the billionaire CEO of Salesforce<\/a>, Marc Benioff, is no exception. But it seems as if Benioff\u2019s spree is slowing down ever so slightly, as his shareholders just pumped the brakes on his latest hefty compensation package.<\/p>\n Alongside the suggested pay plans of other Salesforce executives, Benioff\u2019s proposed compensation was rejected by 404.8 million votes (versus 339.3 million in favor), according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing published on Monday<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Like many bigwigs, Benioff\u2019s real worth comes from his stock options. His base salary stayed at $1.55 million, but he raked in $39.6 million in the 2024 fiscal year. The prior year, Benioff made $29.9 million, and his worth ballooned as Salesforce offered him yet more stock grants, including a $20 million equity opportunity in the plan shareholders just rejected, according to a Salesforce proxy statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n While the board encouraged shareholders to accept said proposal, two shareholder advisory companies, Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services, suggested otherwise, according to CNBC<\/a>. The shareholders\u2019 vote, however, is not binding, meaning Benioff could still get his million-dollar bonus.<\/p>\n Salesforce did not immediately respond to Fortune\u2019s<\/em> request for comment.<\/p>\n Both executives and shareholders have made out quite nicely in the shadow of the pandemic. Shareholder payouts and CEO pay have \u201crisen to record levels,\u201d according to nonprofit Oxfam\u2019s report analyzing<\/a> more than 200 of the largest U.S. corporations. CEO pay has jumped by 31% from 2018 to 2022, per said study.<\/p>\n \u201cThe rules are being rigged and the companies are helping to rig them,\u201d Irit Tamir, senior director of Oxfam America\u2019s private sector department told Fortune<\/em><\/a> in March, adding that \u201cwe are essentially in a new Gilded Age.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Look no further than Elon Musk\u2019s recent victory to see how the game is played. Earlier this year, a judge in Delaware ruled that Musk\u2019s proposed pay package for Tesla<\/a>, worth a record $55 billion, wasn\u2019t justified and called it an \u201cunfathomable sum<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe process leading to the approval of Musk\u2019s compensation plan was deeply flawed,\u201d Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick<\/a> wrote<\/a>, adding that the CEO \u201chad extensive ties with the persons tasked with negotiating on Tesla\u2019s behalf.\u201d<\/p>\n Even so, the board pushed back against this decision and asked shareholders again to vote on the package. They overwhelmingly sided with Musk, granting back a pay plan now valued at $44.9 billion, per the Associated Press<\/a>. That\u2019s even though Musk has been criticized for splitting his attention among too many projects, even being called an \u201cabsent CEO\u201d by Gerber Kawasaki CEO Ross Gerber<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gerber, a shareholder himself, excoriated the Tesla board<\/a> ahead of its second vote. \u201cNot only is the board not independent, they basically work for Elon,\u201d he told Fox<\/a> Business. \u201cAt some point, you\u2019ve just got to say, this board needs to be replaced.\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n Even so, Musk\u2019s absence appears to be worth billions in the pandemic era of the CEO. The same can\u2019t be said for Benioff as of yet\u2014but that could change.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n