R470,000 a day for 9 years – Bob van Dijk’s insane pay as Naspers CEO

As of Monday, Bob van Dijk is no longer the CEO of Naspers and Prosus. However, over his 9-year tenure at the helm, he received over R1.5 billion in salaries, bonuses, and long-term incentives.

Averaged out over his entire tenure, this works out to be more than R470,000 a day – or more than 1.5 times what the average formally employed worker in South Africa earns in an entire year.

According to an announcement by Naspers and Prosus on 18 September, Van Dijk has stepped down from the role as CEO of both companies with immediate effect and has agreed to assist with the transition on a consultancy basis until 30 September 2024.

He was the CEO of Naspers since 2014, and Prosus since its listing in 2019, and the group has credited him for turning it into a global consumer internet company, which created significant value for shareholders.

Over his 9-year tenure, Van Dijk received a high base salary, short-term incentives, long-term incentives, a pension, and other benefits. Since he assumed the position of CEO, he was renowned as one of the highest-paid executives on the African continent.

Naspers, a global internet group, currently boasts a market capitalisation of more than R560 billion, making it Africa’s largest company in terms of valuation.

Van Dijk’s total remuneration includes a 10% base salary, a 10% cash bonus, and 80% long-term incentives. However, he must hold ten times his annual salary in Naspers and Prosus shares.

Naspers’ remuneration policy has been a very contentious topic over the past years.

In a recent annual meeting in August, 79.40% of Naspers N shareholders voted against the company’s remuneration policy. However, Naspers A shareholders, who carry voting rights equivalent to 1,000 N shares per A share, voted in favour of the policy, effectively swinging the vote.

How much Van Dijk made

Over his tenure as CEO, Van Dijk earned just over R1.5 billion, which includes his basic salary, benefits, bonuses, and long-term investments over the 9-year period.

Despite this massive figure, a telling sign is that his total compensation more than halved in 2023 compared to previous years – primarily due to the significant decline in his performance awards.

Looking at the breakdown of the remuneration package, Van Dijk received a base salary of R26.7 million in 2023, slightly lower than the R21 million he earned in the previous year.

However, the most significant decline in Van Dijk’s remuneration package resulted from his long-term incentive awards (LTIs), which dropped to zero in 2023. In the previous year, he received a performance payment of R182.9 million.

According to Billionaires Africa, the decrease in Van Dijk’s total remuneration is attributed to the challenging financial performance of Naspers during its 2023 fiscal year, which concluded on 31 March 2023.

The company’s annual report reveals a sharp decline in profit after tax, plummeting by over 46% from $18.54 billion in 2022 to $9.95 billion in 2023.

The publication noted that the decline can be attributed not only to the decrease in gains from the partial disposal of equity-accounted investments – which includes the sale of its stake in the Chinese multinational technology conglomerate Tencent – but also to the impact of dilution losses on equity-accounted investments.

Despite this, Van Dijk was ranked the best-paid CEO in the Netherlands according to an annual ranking conducted by the Dutch publication De Volkskrant.

The publication noted that his remuneration equated to 1,000 times more than the average employee at Naspers, causing a stir among Dutch professionals the weekend before he announced his departure from the role.

Van Dijk’s remuneration since he took office, provided below, illustrates the company’s remuneration strategy.

It must be noted that the actual amount realised can be much larger or smaller depending on the company’s performance and when Van Dijk decides to exercise his options.

However, Van Dijk’s sizeable remuneration in his near-decade at Naspers, including short-term incentives (STIs) and long-term incentives (LTIs), is subject to malus and clawback provisions, according to the group’s annual report.

The report reads: “Malus and clawback provisions may be invoked for certain material events, including cases of material financial misstatement or gross misconduct on the part of the executive director or direct reports of the CEO.”

If these are invoked, this will be evident in this year’s annual report, released in 2024.

The table below shows Van Dijk’s compensation over his 10-year tenure, including his basic salary, benefits, bonuses, and LTIs.

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