Two things are certain with pandemics – one, some people are going to die; and two, some people are going to make a lot of cash.
Along with Pfizer-BioNTech, US-based vaccine manufacturer Moderna Inc. has been one of the largest beneficiaries of all following the release of the Fauci-funded Chinavirus from the Wuhan lab in early 2020. Over the past two years, the company has undergone an unthinkable turnaround from where it was before the pandemic hit, posting revenues of over $12,000,000,000 ($12B) in 2021 after losing a whopping $747 million in 2020.
What’s most astonishing about the change in fortune is that the entirety of Moderna’s income is attributable to the only commercially available product it offers: the experimental mRNA Covid-19 vaccine.
With sales from the vaccine expected to top last year’s numbers, the company has decided to reward its top executive, CEO Stephanie Bancel, with a massive ‘change-in-control’ package that will pay him upwards of $900 million dollars if the company is sold or merged and he loses his job in the process.
The ‘golden parachute’ was approved by the board of the Massachusetts-based vaccine manufacturer at the end of 2021. It will pay Bancel, who already owns a net worth of over 4.3 billion, a total of $926,000,000. In all, the new package will be almost 1,000% above (975%) his previously agreed upon severance agreement of $9.6 million.
However, Bancel’s total payout is volatile because it will be paid out mostly in the form of stock options, according to the Daily Mail:
“Much of Bancel’s sky-high parachute is tied to Moderna’s stocks, but share prices have gone up and down during the pandemic, making it hard to determine how much they’ll be worth if and when Bancel cashes them out.
Moderna shares reached a record high of $497.49 each on August 10, 2021, before tumbling to $253.98 by December 31. On Thursday, one share was worth $139.52.”
The golden parachute is just the latest cash cow to come Bancel’s way since the pandemic began. In 2021 alone, Bancel made over $18.2 million for his role as Moderna’s CEO after combining his $990,385 in salary, $15 million in stock, and a $1.5 million bonus, according to CNBC.
But, it’s not just him. Moderna’s other top executives are also cashing out right alongside Bancel.
In 2021, President Stephen Hoge cashed out 165.9 million in stock options, on top of his salary and bonuses, which totaled $7.8 million last year.
Moderna’s Chief Technical Officer, Juan Andres, is also raking in the dough, selling $194.3 million in stock and making $6.6 million from the company in 2021.
In all, the three top executives have unloaded hundreds of millions in Moderna stock over the past year as they look to capitalize on the crisis before it times out. Following the stock price’s high point of $497.49 last summer, it has cratered to where it currently sits at $139.52 per share, so time is of the essence with their firesale.