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Corporate Greed: Whiting Execs Award Themselves $15MM in Cash Bonuses Prior to Ch. 11 Filing

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Corporate Greed: Whiting Execs Award Themselves $15MM in Cash Bonuses Prior to Ch. 11 Filing

Whiting Petroleum Corp.'s board handed its top executives $14.6 million in cash bonuses in the days leading up to the company's bankruptcy filing.

The bonuses, to be paid immediately, were distributed to five of Whiting's lead executives as follows:

  • CEO Brad Holly received $6.4 million
  • CFO Correne Loeffler received $2.2 million
  • COO Charles Rimer received $2.9 million
  • CSO Timothy Sulser received $1.05 million
  • CAO Bruce DeBoer received $2.05 million

Whiting filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, April 1, 2020 after maxing out its $650 million credit facility.


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