Chairman cashes in on Ford's rebound

DEARBORN, Mich., Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford sold 3.4 million shares of common stock and options in the company for about $28 million, filings show.

Ford also collected his first salary in five years after honoring his pledge not to do so before the company rebounded and returned to profitability, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

The automaker's comeback paid off handsomely for the great-grandson of founder Henry Ford. He is to be paid $4 million in salary and $11 million to $12 million in stock options accrued since 2008.

When the chairman made his pledge in 2008, the company's board decided his salary would be deferred.

The automaker based in Dearborn, Mich., has made a dramatic comeback after suffering $30 billion in losses for 2006-2008. It reported $2.6 billion in profit for the second quarter of 2010, its fifth consecutive profitable one.

During some of the worst days of the recession, Ford took out personal loans to buy $14 million in common shares in the automaker as a sign of his confidence it would rebound.

This week, Ford sold 1.7 million in common shares and 1.7 million in stock options. He retains 2.5 million shares in common stock and 4 million in Class B shares, a type of stock owned by the Ford family that gives it voting control over company matters, the Journal said.