Opendoor Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:OPEN) CEO Kaz Nejatian is working for a base salary of just $1 in cash, yet he has secured a staggering $741 million accounting valuation in pure stock-based “alignment”—an aggressive, milestone-driven compensation package that mirrors the legendary moonshot incentive structures of Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA).
The $741 Million Breakdown
According to data compiled by The Wall Street Journal, Nejatian’s nine-figure compensation ranks him among the highest-paid executives in the country, despite his near-zero cash salary.
The $741 million figure reflects the upfront accounting value of an 82 million share package issued to draw the executive away from his lucrative former role at Shopify Inc. (NASDAQ:SHOP).
Prominent investor Anthony Pompliano had earlier defended the deal against critics, noting that the company successfully hired “a guy making a gazillion dollars at Shopify” by paying him virtually nothing upfront.
Instead, Nejatian’s wealth is entirely contingent on driving monumental shareholder return over the next five years.
Echoing Tesla’s Performance Pay Milestones
This structure directly echoes Tesla’s pay milestones, where massive option grants only unlock upon hitting aggressive market capitalization thresholds.
The WSJ notes that Elon Musk‘s historic 2018 compensation paved the way for these massive “moonshot” pay packages. If Opendoor’s stock ascends to its initial operational target of $33, Nejatian’s package scales to over $2.6 billion.
Furthermore, if Nejatian successfully executes the transition envisioned by early proponent Eric Jackson and drives the stock to $82 per share, Pompliano calculates that Nejatian will walk away with “$6 billion personally.”
A High-Stakes Corporate Battleground
While short-sellers like Martin Shkreli have countered that Opendoor’s business model remains “fundamentally broken,” even he conceded that hiring the former Shopify executive is “a big win for $OPEN.”
As long-term bulls map out a path to capture the transitions of the housing market, Nejatian’s historic contract ensures that the CEO will either completely restructure the global housing economy alongside his shareholders or walk away with almost nothing.
How Has OPEN Performed In 2026?
Shares of OPEN have declined by 26.59% year-to-date. It closed 4.25% lower at $4.28 apiece on Monday, and fell 1.40% in premarket on Tuesday.
Over the last month, OPEN stock was down 5.52%, and it fell 33.33% over the last six months; the stock was 700.00% higher over the year. Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that OPEN maintains a weak price trend in the short, long, and medium terms.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Login to comment