6 ms·

It looks like the CEO of Wikimedia gets paid roughly as much as a Staff/Senior Staff-level FAANG engineer. That looks about right. And they got 6 months sever

It looks like the CEO of Wikimedia gets paid roughly as much as a Staff/Senior Staff-level FAANG engineer. That looks about right. And they got 6 months severance. Also comparable. I don't get why people are upset. Somehow everyone working for a nonprofit should bring home less money to their families. In truth what that assumption would mean is that nonprofits get less skilled people.

detaro 3y ago
To take a global perspective: Would you be happy to donate to charity that uses the money to pay executives 10x-100x your salary?
- cgio 3y ago
  I would be happy to donate considering the value I get from their work. Given the market where they operate, the salary and severance is actually low in my opinion. I would like them to pay their people well.
- bradfa 3y ago
  It depends. If the charity is doing amazingly good things and the executives in question are making a big impact on being able to do those good things, then yes I'd be fine with that.
- lallysingh 3y ago
  It's this question about value for skills or resentment for income inequality? For the latter, wikimedia would have to move somewhere with lower labor rates yet is somehow to keep talent from leaving for better paying places.
- tchaffee 3y ago
  I would be happy. I'm not an executive so I don't get executive pay. The executive salaries at Wikimedia seem low compared to what you can earn at a similarly sized business.
  - barrkel 3y ago
    The thing is, what exactly does something like Wikipedia need executives for? What strategic shifts does it need to adapt to? What new product lines does it need to move the entire org around to create? What hard decisions does it need to make to shut stuff down? It's not really a business.
    - tchaffee 3y ago
      You're giving a business definition of a few responsibilities for an executive and then saying it's a poor fit. Now try giving an NGO definition of an executive to see if it's a better fit and if they have any significant responsibilities. Non-profits shut down all the time. If you're concerned about a lasting impact you'll pay for a talented executive team.
      - barrkel 3y ago
        Under what circumstances would Wikipedia shit down, if it still has money for operational expenses? The biggest set of responsibilities charites I didn't list is sales (aka donations). But Wikipedia doesn't do more good work (as donors think of it) the more money they get. It doesn't scale up much that way.
        tchaffee 3y ago
        Mismanagement could help those funds disappear pretty quickly. It's rare that any kind of organization or business needs no governance.
        pessimizer 3y ago
        Only "mismanagement" used as a euphemism for self-dealing or embezzlement, which is what I think many people suspect is occurring now on some level. Wikipedia has a small, constrained remit and if no one ever edited it again, it would still be very useful for decades.
- whywhywhywhy 3y ago
  You’d struggle to find one that doesn’t.
- ajross 3y ago
  Where are you getting 10-100x? None of the salaries in the linked article are even over $1M. As the upthread poster explains, these numbers are merely FAANG-competetive. None of these Wikemedia execs are making more than they would in a routine private sector position of the same seniority.
akolbe 3y ago
18 months' severance. US$623,286 when their last full year's base compensation was $400K. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/1/14/Wikimedia_Foundation_2021_Form_990.pdf#page=50 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/1/14/Wikim... https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/e/e4/Wikimedia_Foundation_2020_Form_990.pdf#page=48 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/e/e4/Wikim...
- lallysingh 3y ago
  Oh yikes, staff with a larger severance. I'm not surprised, I can't imagine it's easy to find a new CEO job after losing your last one.
  - thomastjeffery 3y ago
    It's not as if someone who has already been making several hundred grand is in dire need of financial stability between employment opportunities.
    - grumple 3y ago
      You could say the same about any professional. You do it because it's the right thing to do, and if you don't do it, people are more likely not to work for you in the future.
      - thomastjeffery 3y ago
        > You could say the same about any professional. False.
        heyoni 3y ago
        Case closed I guess?
        lallysingh 3y ago
morsch 3y ago
Were they fired or did they quit because they got a better job? Do people usually get a severance in the latter case?
concordDance 3y ago
People are upset because it was working fine 10 years ago when execs were paid a fraction of the amount. They're upset because wikipedia asks for donations every year even though they've collected enough money to run wikipedia off interest from treasury bonds.
- madeofpalk 3y ago
  What was FAANG developer salaries like 10 years ago? Was that 'working fine'?
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
- nickthegreek 3y ago
  then don't donate?
smsm42 3y ago
I don't think I ever heard any engineer leaving WMF, voluntarily or not, getting 18-month severance. I'm not sure why the CEO should. It's not like she is going to be destitute otherwise. I mean good for her for getting cool half mil just for leaving, but I don't see how it makes any sense for WMF. It's not like "nobody is going to want to be WMF CEO unless they are promised to get half mil for leaving", is it? Generally WMF's salaries are on the low side - their VP Eng was getting 220K in 2020, and 255K in 2021, which is kinda low for a VP of a decent-sized engineering org - but that doesn't answer the question of severance.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

detaro 3y ago

To take a global perspective: Would you be happy to donate to charity that uses the money to pay executives 10x-100x your salary?

cgio 3y ago
I would be happy to donate considering the value I get from their work. Given the market where they operate, the salary and severance is actually low in my opinion. I would like them to pay their people well.
bradfa 3y ago
It depends. If the charity is doing amazingly good things and the executives in question are making a big impact on being able to do those good things, then yes I'd be fine with that.
lallysingh 3y ago
It's this question about value for skills or resentment for income inequality? For the latter, wikimedia would have to move somewhere with lower labor rates yet is somehow to keep talent from leaving for better paying places.
tchaffee 3y ago
I would be happy. I'm not an executive so I don't get executive pay. The executive salaries at Wikimedia seem low compared to what you can earn at a similarly sized business.
- barrkel 3y ago
  The thing is, what exactly does something like Wikipedia need executives for? What strategic shifts does it need to adapt to? What new product lines does it need to move the entire org around to create? What hard decisions does it need to make to shut stuff down? It's not really a business.
  - tchaffee 3y ago
    You're giving a business definition of a few responsibilities for an executive and then saying it's a poor fit. Now try giving an NGO definition of an executive to see if it's a better fit and if they have any significant responsibilities. Non-profits shut down all the time. If you're concerned about a lasting impact you'll pay for a talented executive team.
    - barrkel 3y ago
      Under what circumstances would Wikipedia shit down, if it still has money for operational expenses? The biggest set of responsibilities charites I didn't list is sales (aka donations). But Wikipedia doesn't do more good work (as donors think of it) the more money they get. It doesn't scale up much that way.
      - tchaffee 3y ago
        Mismanagement could help those funds disappear pretty quickly. It's rare that any kind of organization or business needs no governance.
        pessimizer 3y ago
        Only "mismanagement" used as a euphemism for self-dealing or embezzlement, which is what I think many people suspect is occurring now on some level. Wikipedia has a small, constrained remit and if no one ever edited it again, it would still be very useful for decades.
whywhywhywhy 3y ago
You’d struggle to find one that doesn’t.
ajross 3y ago
Where are you getting 10-100x? None of the salaries in the linked article are even over $1M. As the upthread poster explains, these numbers are merely FAANG-competetive. None of these Wikemedia execs are making more than they would in a routine private sector position of the same seniority.

akolbe 3y ago

18 months' severance. US$623,286 when their last full year's base compensation was $400K. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/1/14/Wikimedia_Foundation_2021_Form_990.pdf#page=50 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/1/14/Wikim... https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/e/e4/Wikimedia_Foundation_2020_Form_990.pdf#page=48 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/e/e4/Wikim...

lallysingh 3y ago
Oh yikes, staff with a larger severance. I'm not surprised, I can't imagine it's easy to find a new CEO job after losing your last one.
- thomastjeffery 3y ago
  It's not as if someone who has already been making several hundred grand is in dire need of financial stability between employment opportunities.
  - grumple 3y ago
    You could say the same about any professional. You do it because it's the right thing to do, and if you don't do it, people are more likely not to work for you in the future.
    - thomastjeffery 3y ago
      > You could say the same about any professional. False.
      - heyoni 3y ago
        Case closed I guess?
        lallysingh 3y ago

morsch 3y ago

Were they fired or did they quit because they got a better job? Do people usually get a severance in the latter case?

concordDance 3y ago

People are upset because it was working fine 10 years ago when execs were paid a fraction of the amount. They're upset because wikipedia asks for donations every year even though they've collected enough money to run wikipedia off interest from treasury bonds.

madeofpalk 3y ago
What was FAANG developer salaries like 10 years ago? Was that 'working fine'?
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
nickthegreek 3y ago
then don't donate?

smsm42 3y ago

I don't think I ever heard any engineer leaving WMF, voluntarily or not, getting 18-month severance. I'm not sure why the CEO should. It's not like she is going to be destitute otherwise. I mean good for her for getting cool half mil just for leaving, but I don't see how it makes any sense for WMF. It's not like "nobody is going to want to be WMF CEO unless they are promised to get half mil for leaving", is it? Generally WMF's salaries are on the low side - their VP Eng was getting 220K in 2020, and 255K in 2021, which is kinda low for a VP of a decent-sized engineering org - but that doesn't answer the question of severance.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]