Highest Paid Chief Executives in Skilled Nursing

Though many of the chief executives behind some of the biggest public skilled nursing companies in the U.S. made millions of dollars last year, some earned more than others.

Company leaders at Quality Care Properties (NYSE: QCP), Kindred Healthcare (NYSE: KND), and Omega Healthcare Investors (NYSE: OHI) made the most in total compensation in 2016 — which includes base salary, stock awards, bonuses, and non-equity incentive plans — according to the most recent annual proxy statements filed by public senior living companies and investors with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Quality Care Properties and Omega Healthcare Investors are real estate investments trusts (REITs) with sizable skilled nursing assets. Though the list also includes Kindred Healthcare’s CEO, the company recently agreed to sell its SNF portfolio to BM Eagle Holdings, a joint venture headed by affiliates of the New York City-based private alternative asset management firm BlueMountain.

Advertisement

This list excludes companies, such as mega-REIT Colony NorthStar (NYSE: CLNS), that have skilled nursing assets but also have significant assets across a diverse range of other industries. Companies that are included on this list either are skilled nursing operators or REITs, like Quality Care Properties and Omega Healthcare Investors, that are focused on health care, with skilled nursing among their core investments.

Had his company been included, Colony NorthStar Executive Chairman David T. Hamamoto easily would have topped the rankings, as he brought in $20,433,300 in 2016.

Additionally, not all the major publicly traded skilled nursing owners and operators made the rankings. While chief executives at National Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: NHC), Genesis HealthCare (NYSE: GEN), CareTrust REIT (NASDAQ: CTRE), and Diversicare Healthcare Services (NASDAQ: DVCR) all made in excess of a million dollars in total compensation, they still fell below the bottom threshold for the top seven earners.

Advertisement

Here’s the full breakdown of the top earners (click to enlarge):

Of the three top earners, Quality Care Properties CEO Mark S. Ordan made the most overall with a total compensation of $14,251,163 in 2016. QCP was spun off last year from major health care REIT HCP Inc. (NYSE: HCP), as a way for that company to jettison its troubled skilled nursing tenant, HCR ManorCare. Ordan, a noted turnaround artist, now is engaged in negotiations with ManorCare on various options, including a full equity takeover of the company.

But the highest salary went not to Ordan but to Kindred CEO Benjamin Breier, who took home a baseline of $1,045,098 that year.

It’s also important to note that many of the listed executives likely took home more than the SEC filings suggest. Though publicly traded companies are required to report a “fair value” for stock awards and options, that valuation is determined on the day they’re awarded, not cashed out, according to the Wall Street Journal. Other fluctuating pay metrics, such as performance target incentives, also muddy the waters.

Written by Tim Regan

Companies featured in this article:

, , , , , , , , , , ,