Sotheby’s Cuts Ruprecht’s Salary 14 Percent, Drops Cash Bonus

By Philip Boroff

March 23 (Bloomberg) -- Sotheby’s cut Chief Executive Officer William F. Ruprecht’s salary by $100,000 to $600,000 for 2009 after the company’s profit dropped 87 percent last year.
The New York auction house also eliminated Ruprecht’s cash bonus for 2008. He received a $2.6 million bonus in 2007.
Ruprecht’s total compensation, including stock awards and perks, was $10.3 million in 2007. Sotheby’s hasn’t disclosed his total compensation for 2008.
This year’s salary reduction “was initiated by Mr. Ruprecht as part of the company’s ongoing cost reduction efforts,” Sotheby’s said today in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
The company’s other top executives will have their annual base salaries reduced by 10 percent in 2009, Sotheby’s said in the filing. Last month, the company said it would try to cut costs by $100 million this year.
Net income in 2008 was $28.3 million, down from $213.1 million the previous year.