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Zachary Kirkhorn stepped down from his position as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Tesla (TSLA) on August 7, 2023. According to Bloomberg, Kirkhorn departs with a $590 million fortune.
Kirkhorn was born in 1984 and raised in the Philadelphia area. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2006 with a degree in economics. After graduating, he worked as a financial analyst intern at Microsoft and then as a senior business analyst at McKinsey & Company.
In 2010, Kirkhorn joined Tesla as a senior analyst in finance. He was promoted quickly, becoming director of finance in 2014 and then vice president of finance in 2018. And in January 2019, he was named CFO of Tesla.
As CFO, Kirkhorn was responsible for Tesla's financial planning and analysis, treasury, investor relations, and tax functions. He played a key role in Tesla's successful financial performance in recent years, including the company's first profitable quarter in 2018 and its record-breaking deliveries in 2021.
He amassed this $590 million fortune during his time at Tesla, thanks to a combination of his base salary, stock awards, and options.
Since Kirkhorn began working at the electric vehicle (EV) company in 2010, Tesla stock is up more than 18,000%.
As CFO, Kirkhorn's base salary was $300,000 per year. In addition, he received stock awards worth $16.3 million in 2022 and options worth $1.3 million.
These stock awards and options are based on the performance of Tesla's stock price. As Tesla's stock price has soared, Kirkhorn's stock awards and options have become increasingly valuable. Just this year, TSLA has surged more than 100% year-to-date, boosting its market capitalization to roughly $739 billion. One catalyst behind the EV stock’s sharp recovery in 2023 was a pair of standout deals with General Motors (GM) and Ford (F) that allow the rival companies to use Tesla's charging network.
As of August 2023, Kirkhorn's Tesla shares are worth an estimated $400 million. His options are worth an estimated $190 million. His total net worth is therefore $590 million.
Company CEO Elon Musk has also benefited from TSLA's surging stock price, as he owns about 13% of the company. Musk’s net worth has rocketed past the $220 billion mark this year, making him the richest man in the world again.
On the date of publication, Andy Mukolo did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
