BHP Billiton pays chief $11m
Mining giant BHP Billiton paid chief executive Marius Kloppers close to $11m (£7.04m) during 2011, a year that saw the firm post a record profit of $31bn. His base salary, along with those of other directors, was raised four per cent to $2.1m, with the rest of his eye-watering payout made up of benefits and share awards. In its annual report yesterday, the firm listed its main risks as a drop in commodity price linked to the Eurozone financial crisis, a fall in Chinese demand and regulatory clampdowns. BHP said it had two fatalities at its plants in the last year. The metals-to-energy giant said it has 583.1m barrels of oil equivalent in reserves as of the end of June – a figure that is set to rise thanks to its $12bn acquisition of Petrohawk in August.