J&J CEO Got $23 Million In Compensation For 2008

By LINDA A. JOHNSON

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Johnson & Johnson's chairman and chief executive received compensation valued at $23.03 million in 2008, an 8.2 percent decrease in a year when the health care company posted better results than many competitors and net income and revenue rose.

William C. Weldon, who has held his posts since 2002, received compensation totaling $25.1 million in 2007.

In 2008, he received a base salary of $1.79 million, according to a proxy statement filed Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Weldon, 60, received stock awards and options valued at $6.4 million when they were granted in February 2008. Johnson & Johnson's shares are now trading below the options' strike price of $61.75, but Weldon has until February 2018 to exercise them.

Most of the decline in Weldon's compensation is accounted for by a smaller total for options and stock awards, which was down from $7.7 million in 2007.

He also received about $9 million in annual performance bonus.