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UnitedHealth’s comeback CEO is getting $1 million a year and $60 million in stock options

Huge stock grants are taking over top CEO pay packages.

5/16/25 10:51AM

UnitedHealth is giving new CEO Stephen Hemsley more than $60 million to step back into the top job, eight years after he left the position in 2017. According to an SEC filing from the company on Wednesday, the 72-year-old will get $1 million a year, no annual bonus, and $60 million worth of stock options that will vest after three years.

Hemsley returned to UnitedHealth this Tuesday to replace Andrew Witty, who unexpectedly resigned owing to “personal reasons.” Before stepping aside in 2017, Hemsley led UnitedHealth for over a decade to become the healthcare giant that we know today, expanding the company into moneymaking areas like pharmacy benefits and helping shares climb more than 200% over his tenure.

The company has changed a lot since Hemsley was last at the wheel though, with shares heading toward their worst month in history, down more than 40% since mid-April. The new CEO signed during a hell of a week, after his predecessor’s abrupt departure, the company withdrawing full-year guidance, and The Wall Street Journal yesterday reporting that the insurer is under investigation for possible Medicare fraud.

Given that the options “will not have any value if the stock does not increase,” per a company spokesman, and that Hemsley would forfeit them if he’s removed or resigns before three years, the pay package will likely serve as pretty strong motivation for the new chief. The deal is just the latest example of a growing shift in how top execs are compensated.

Money talks

American CEOs are getting paid more than ever, with a record median pay of $16.8 million last year, largely because of big boosts from stock grants, a high-risk, high-return compensation plan with an incentive to meet stock prices. Take Coherent’s CEO James Anderson for example, who topped last year’s list of the highest-paid CEOs with a whopping nine-figure pay package. Some 99% of his pay consisted of stock grants, the value of which multiplied as the shares skyrocketed.

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Texas sues Netflix, accusing streamer of spying on children and collecting user data without consent

The state of Texas filed a lawsuit Monday against streaming giant Netflix, alleging that the company has built a “behavioral-surveillance program of staggering scale.”

The suit alleges that Netflix is “deceptively designed” to be addictive, using features like autoplay to get viewers hooked, “mining those users for data, and then converting that data into lucrative intelligence for global advertising juggernauts.”

“When you watch Netflix, Netflix watches you,” the lawsuit reads.

“This lawsuit lacks merit and is based on inaccurate and distorted information,” Netflix said in a statement to Sherwood News. “Netflix takes our members’ privacy seriously and complies with privacy and data‑protection laws everywhere we operate.”

Texas is seeking civil penalties of “up to $10,000 per violation” of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act, along with an additional penalty of up to $250,000 per violation involving a consumer aged 65 or older.

“Netflix is not the ad-free and kid-friendly platform it claims to be. Instead, it has misled consumers while exploiting their private data to make billions,” said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the press release announcing the lawsuit.

Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment.