Reddit co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman’s compensation bundle for 2023 was a staggering $193 million. This has not solely shocked the Reddit group however many web customers for fairly a couple of causes.
Reddit revealed Huffman’s pay bundle, which largely contains inventory choices, within the obligatory U.S. Securities and Change Fee (SEC) submitting late final month. As the corporate nears its IPO (Preliminary Public Providing), this good-looking determine has drawn extreme criticism. Curiously, Huffman has defended his compensation through a Reddit AMA.
Steve Huffman has justified his compensation bundle
As anticipated, Reddit CEO Huffman’s compensation bundle has drawn widespread criticism, particularly on Reddit. You will need to notice that moderators, who basically handle and run the sub-forums, referred to as sub-Reddits, proceed to stay unpaid.
Particularly talking, moderators have all the time been thought of volunteers. They contribute as per their schedule. Whereas there are strict guidelines about moderation, it’s the moderators who make sure the sub-Reddits stay civil and lively.
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Whereas avoiding justifying his wage whereas Reddit’s moderators stay unpaid, Huffman answered why he was awarded $193 million final 12 months. It’s attention-grabbing to notice Reddit has formally admitted that “its outcomes and person expertise could possibly be harmed if it have been unable to maintain a adequate variety of volunteer moderators.”
Might Steve Huffman’s compensation bundle harm Reddit’s IPO?
Steve Huffman is Reddit’s CEO and co-founder. He goes by his Reddit username “spez” on the social media platform. He co-founded Reddit together with his faculty roommate, Alexis Ohanian, in 2005.
Condé Nast acquired Reddit for a mere $10 million in 2006. Though this made Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian multimillionaires each have expressed remorse at promoting for such a small quantity on the time.
Reddit rehired Huffman as CEO in 2015. Though the platform was rising, his main targets have been to additional propel the corporate, create a transparent content material coverage, and stabilize infrastructure.
“If the corporate does effectively, I’ll do effectively,” Reddit CEO Steve Huffman stated in a Q&A video on the platform. “If the corporate doesn’t do effectively, I don’t both.” https://t.co/PEmZWwuC7i pic.twitter.com/12ilOnBRpU
— FORTUNE (@FortuneMagazine) March 20, 2024
Since then, Reddit has banned hundreds of communities for hate speech. The platform underwent a serious redesign, and Huffman’s development propelled him into Fortune’s 40 Below 40 checklist.
All this success for Reddit, nonetheless, hasn’t trickled downwards to its moderators, who proceed to stay unpaid. They’re nonetheless volunteers, who’re footslogging away free of charge to take care of the platform.
Therefore, Reddit CEO Huffman’s good-looking compensation bundle could invariably be in comparison with the shortage of profit-sharing or compensation for moderators, threatening and infrequently even arm-twisting them. This may occasionally impression Reddit’s upcoming IPO.