Agence France Presse

San Francisco, March 24:

Google Inc pampers its employees with free food and many other perks, but the online search engine leader is more stingy when it comes to rewarding the trio of billionaires who run the company. In a meeting held this month, Google’s board decided not to give 2004 bonuses to the company’s chief executive, Eric Schmidt, and its co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, according to documents filed yesterday by the Mountain View-based company.

The men, who consult on most of Google’s key decision, each received a $1,566 holiday bonus besides their salaries, which are modest compared with most high-profile companies.

Schmidt collects a $250,000 salary while Brin and Page each receive $150,000 annually, according to disclosure made as part of Google’s closely watched initial public offering of stock. The wealth in that IPO ensured Google’s three top executives would never have to work again, if they so desired. All three men rank among the world’s richest men. Brin and Page each are worth $7.2 billion, while Schmidt is worth $2.8 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

The executives are cashing out a small portion of their Google stock by selling a combined 16.6 million shares under an 18-month divestiture plan adopted last year. Even after those sales, Brin and Page will each own about 31 million shares of Google stock, which gained 38 cents to close yesterday at $178.98 per share on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Schmidt will own 12.2 million shares after the sales are complete. It’s not unusual for wealthy high-tech executives with substantial stakes in their companies to collect annual bonuses. For instance, Bill Gates — the world’s richest man — received a $310,000 bonus besides a $591,667 salary last year.