Lenovo CEO Handed His $3 Million Bonus to Employees

It's no big secret that CEOs of major corporations make a ton of money. Unlike Hollywood actors who make even more money pretending to be someone else, CEOs earn their millions by working night and day, seemingly keeping the global economy up and running while actors and actresses float in their pool.

Corporate CEOs also land big fat bonuses, sometimes more than their yearly income, depending on how well the business reeled in the revenue during the corporate year. Many presumably sink that money into luxury cars, personal jets or additional rooms in the mansion they'll never use. Lenovo's CEO chose to take the honorable route... to some degree.

CNN reports that Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing distributed $3 million from his bonus among 10,000 junior-level employees. The list of recipients included receptionists, production-line workers and assistants who each received an average bonus of 2,000 yuan, or $314 USD, in the name of their CEO.

According to the report, the $3 million was actually an additional boost to his normal $5.2 million in bonuses after Lenovo had its best fiscal year ending in March. His total earnings, as stated in the company's annual report, amounted to $14 million and included salary, incentives and other benefits.

Lenovo said that it saw a 73-percent bump in net profit from the previous year, achieving a record full-year sales of $29.6 billion USD. As of March 31, the company had a net cash reserve of $4.1 billion USD. Even more, during the fourth fiscal quarter, Lenovo’s consolidated sales increased a healthy 54-percent to $7.5 billion USD. For the tenth quarter in a row, the Company was the fastest growing among the top four PC vendors, with worldwide PC shipments up 44 percent year-over-year.

"The 2011/12 fiscal year was a record-setting year for Lenovo, where we set an all-time high for revenue, shipment, market share and pre-tax income. Our fiscal year ended impressively with strong momentum," he said. "Lenovo’s global PC shipments grew by 35-percent year-over-year, outperforming the industry by ten times."

Could Yuanqing have given out more? Some could argue that $314 USD is better than nothing. Other may point out that he could have afforded to hand over a larger chunk of his bonus.

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