Carnival CEO Donald's 2020 compensation rose to $13.3m

Four of five Carnival named officers did better in devastated 2020 than in 2019, a year of peak profitability.

With nine months of no sailing in 2020, Carnival Corp. incurred a $10.2bn net loss, compared to a $3bn profit in fiscal 2019.

Salaries for the five named executives were reduced starting last July by 50% for Donald, and by 25% for David Bernstein, Stein Kruse and Michael Thamm and 20% for Arnie Perez. Bonuses evaporated.

Donald's salary was $857,413, down from $1.5m, and the zero bonus compared to $2.25m in 2019.  It was the value of Donald's stock awards — $12.23m, compared to $7.1m the year before — that drove up total compensation to $13.3m from $11.15m.

Stein Kruse

For Kruse, former CEO, Holland America Group & Carnival UK, compensation was valued at $5.23m, up from $4.13m in 2019. His salary went to $613,701 from $925,000. Stock awards were worth $4.53m, up from $2.56m.

Michael Thamm

Total compensation for Thamm, CEO of Costa Group & Carnival Asia, was just a tad lower — just over $5.17m compared to $5.2m. His salary was $631,781 compared to $963,480. Stock awards were worth just under $4.4m, versus almost $3.3m.

David Bernstein

CFO and Chief Accounting Officer Bernstein's compensation was $4.4m, up from almost $3.78m. His salary went to $526,902 from $750,000, while stock awards were valued at $3.68m, up from $1.97m.

Arnie Perez

And compensation for Perez, company secretary and former general counsel, totaled $2.32m, down from $2.07m. His salary was $414,347 compared to $450,000, while value of stock awards rose to nearly $1.7m from a little over $1m.