Vornado’s Steve Roth takes 50% pay cut

Vornado Realty Trust’s Steve Roth is joining the ranks of CEOs taking voluntary pay cuts as their companies weather the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Roth is waiving 50 percent of his base salary for the rest of the year, the real estate investment trust disclosed in a regulatory filing Monday. Last year, Roth took home $11.1 million, including a base salary of $880,003.

According to Monday’s filing, other Vornado execs — including President Michael Franco, CFO Joseph Macnow and Vice Chairman David Greenbaum — are taking 30 percent pay cuts. Glen Weiss and Barry Lander, co-heads of real estate, are waiving 15 percent of their base salaries, as is Haim Chera, head of retail.

Effective April 1, Vornados’ non-executive members of the board also agreed to give up their $75,000 cash retainers for the rest of the year.

Although the pandemic’s full impact on Vornado isn’t yet known, the retail sector has been pummeled as bricks-and-mortar locations comply with widespread shut-down orders. Some retail landlords have collected just 15 percent of April rent, according to Marcus & Millichap. Pre-pandemic, Vornado was plowing ahead with its $2 billion redevelopment of the Penn Plaza district.

Roth and other Vornado’s executives are following a slew of other real estate executives taking voluntary pay cuts.

More than 300 companies in the U.S. cut executive salaries through April 14, according to data firm Equilar.

Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson and Wyndham CEO Geoffrey Ballotti both agreed to forgo their salaries for the rest of the year.

Realogy, Redfin, Newmark Knight Frank, Airbnb and Compass also said their chief executives would take reduced or no pay in 2020, as they struggle to remain on solid ground during the pandemic.

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