Donald Trump’s pick to head the state department, Rex Tillerson, will get a $180 million payout to cut all ties to Exxon Mobil if he is confirmed for the new post, the Financial Times reports.
Prior to his nomination by the president-elect, Tillerson, the retired Exxon CEO, was set to receive about two million shares of the oil company – worth about $182 million in today’s prices – over the next 10 years, according to the Times.
But Exxon announced that deal would be cancelled if Tillerson is confirmed as secretary of state.
Instead, about $180 million would be put into a trust and released to Tillerson in installments over the next 10 years, the Times reports.
The move, to comply with federal conflict-of-interest statutes, would sever all of Tillerson’s ties to Exxon Mobil, the world’s largest oil producer said in a statement.
Tillerson, 64, retired from Exxon Mobil on Dec. 31. He had joined the company in 1975, becoming CEO in 2006.
Under the deal, the trust would be legally barred from investing in Exxon Mobil – and its independent trustee would manage the assets “consistent with government ethics rules,” the company said.
In addition, Tillerson would give up more than $4.1 million in cash bonuses and other benefits – including retiree medical and dental benefits and administrative support Exxon Mobil would have paid him over the next three years.
He has agreed not to work in the oil and gas industry for the next decade if he is confirmed, the Times reports, noting he will also sell all 600,000 shares he owns in Exxon worth about $55 million.
The Senate foreign relations committee is scheduled to begin confirmation hearings on his nomination on Jan. 11.
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