NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
It's good to get stock options. It's better to get the boss's stock options.
Brad Anderson, the CEO of Best Buy Inc., has given up 200,000 stock options worth up to $7.5 million. They will be granted to non-executive employees at the No. 1 consumer electronics chain, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Options give the holder the opportunity to buy stock at a pre-determined price. They are considered "in the money" when the stock is trading above the pre-determined "strike" price.
As one might imagine, the move of forfeiting options is considered rare.
"I've never heard of a situation like this before," John Fossum, a professor at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management, told the paper.
"He's saying, 'The CEO is not the only one that contributes to the success of the organization.'"
And South Richfield, Minn.-based Best Buy did have a successful 2003. It reported a profit of $705 million, up more than seven times its profit a year earlier, on sales of $24.5 billion, up 17 percent from a year ago.
Although Anderson gave up the options, he shouldn't be going hungry, as he earned a salary of $1.1 million, received a bonus of $2.1 million, holds 3.3 million Best Buy shares and another 1.9 million more options, the Star Tribune reported.
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