Jamie Dimon, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), just got richer.
The head of the largest U.S. bank by assets has been granted new stock options as a retention bonus to incentivize him to continue leading the bank for several more years.
Dimon was awarded 1.5 million stock options that he can exercise in five years if the stock price rises. JPMorgan shares closed at $149.71 U.S. on July 20 and are up 18% so far this year. The new option package would give Dimon a profit of approximately $49 million U.S.
Dimon, age 65, took over JPMorgan Chase in 2005 and built the New York-based lender into the biggest U.S. bank after the 2008/09 financial crisis. Dimon’s future at the helm of the bank had been called into question last year after he had emergency heart surgery.
The bank announced that it has kept Dimon’s annual pay at $31.5 million U.S. The CEO got a 1.6% raise last year after his bank posted record earnings and shares of the company surged.
