Is Yahoo! Paying Marissa Mayer Too Much?

Yahoo!'s YHOO new CEO could make $100 million over the next five years. Previous reports suggested that Marissa Mayer's new job would pay up to $60 million. Another said that Mayer would earn $70 million. But according to The Wall Street Journal, she is slated to make $100 million. Mayer's compensation comes in the form of her annual paycheck, stock options, bonuses, and retention awards. Her money train is expected to begin with $5.4 million for the remainder of 2012. She will earn "around $20 million a year after that," The Wall Street Journal reports, "though some of that amount is tied to performance targets set by the board." Mayer's earnings could outshine two of Yahoo!'s former CEOs, Scott Thompson and Carol Bartz, who, according to The Wall Street Journal, earned $27 million and $44.6 million, respectively. Yahoo!'s compensation package includes restricted stock units that are valued at $14 million. These units have been awarded to her to make up for any compensation she had to forfeit when she left Google GOOG, her former employer. Mayer is famous for being the 20th employee at Google, as well as the first female engineer that the company hired. She most recently served the company as the Vice President of Local, Maps and Location Services. Mayer was recruited to rejuvenate Yahoo! after the last group of chief executives -- including Bartz and Thompson -- failed to move the firm in a positive direction. Some analysts are not convinced that Mayer will do any better. Others think that she must prove that she is right for the job within her first 100 days. Follow me @LouisBedigianBZ