Not One Penny Statement On Pfizer’s Annual Shareholders Meeting and Vote Today on Executive Compensation – CEO Will Receive Record 61 Percent Pay Increase in 2017

After Getting Over $10 Billion from Trump Tax Plan, Pfizer Gave CEO Massive Pay Raise But Increased Prescription Drug Prices on Millions of Americans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, April 26, 2018

PRESS CONTACT:
press@notonepenny.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Not One Penny spokesperson Tim Hogan released the following statement on Pfizer’s annual meeting that took place in Short Hills, NJ today:

“Pfizer got over $10 billion in tax breaks from the TrumpTax plan. And what have they done with this massive tax break? It gave its CEO a record 61 percent pay increase and signed the lease on a brand new luxury HQ atop a Manhattan skyscraper, all while it continued to increase prescription drug prices for millions of Americans. Pfizer also cut Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s research that families were depending on as its CEO bought himself a multimillion dollar sky villa in Sunny Isles Beach.  As the biggest pharmaceutical corporation in the country, Pfizer’s actions impact millions of people’s lives. The billions in tax breaks Pfizer has gotten from President Trump and Republicans in Congress has done nothing to improve the lives of American families.”

KEY FACTS:

• Pfizer, the largest pharmaceutical corporation in the nation by sales, received a $10.7 billion benefit from the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” signed into law by President Trump in 2017.

• After receiving billions in savings from the tax bill, Pfizer continued to jack up prices for  prescription drugs and even cut Alzheimers and Parkinsons research American families are depending on.

• Meanwhile, the company’s CEO, Ian Read, received over $27 million in executive compensation in 2017—up 61 percent from $17.3 million in 2016. The vast majority of that 61 percent pay raise came just days after the tax bill was passed in the form of an $8 million bonus.

• The CEO of Pfizer recently purchased a $13 million “sky villa” condo in the “Jade Signature” in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida. According to news reports, the “sky villa” includes 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, “a gym and an entertainment lounge,” 22-foot ceilings, and a 180-degree view of the ocean. It has 6,735 square feet of interior space and 1,161 square feet of outdoor living space.

• Pfizer recently signed a 20-year lease for a new luxury HQ in a billion-dollar Manhattan skyscraper.  

• According to a new report from Senator Cory Booker, several other major pharmaceutical companies have used their tax savings to enrich themselves at the expense of working Americans. See the report here.