The 10 Biggest Severance Packages Given to Tech CEOs

As you can imagine, CEOs of tech companies are valued just as highly, if not higher, than topday's top-paid professional athletes. Major tech companies have made it a priority to splurge on the best available executives, offering insane severance packages on top of large multimillion-dollar salaries. So whether they run a corporation into bankruptcy or transform it into a Fortune 500 business, a huge payday is guaranteed whether they get fired, resign, or retire.

Just a few days ago, Groupon co-founder and former CEO Andrew Mason was ousted from his own company, walking away with just $378 in severance pay. But don't weep for him: He'll soon have $34 million thanks to his shares in the company. Crazy thing is Mason’s not the only one to cash out big upon his termination. Here's a look at the 10 Biggest Severance Packages Given to Tech CEOs.

Related: The Worst Tech CEOs of All Time

Relieved of duties: Sept. 6, 2011

Est. severance package: $14 million

With only 16 months left on her four-year contract, Yahoo dropped the axe on Bartz with one phone call and sent her off with a wealthy goodbye package. The company filed an 8-K form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission stating its former CEO was “removed from her role…without cause,” making her eligible to walk away with tons of stock grants that could be cashed out. Cha-ching!

Relieved of duties: Sept. 22, 2011

Est. severance package: $23.2 million

So what does 11 months as HP's head honcho get you? For Léo Apotheker: $1.2 million annual salary, a $4 million signing bonus, and $4.2 million for relocation assistance. But that’s small coin compared to the $7.2 million severance cash and $18 million extra collected in stock options when being ousted from his position in 2011. Just think: HP offered similar packages to three CEOs it terminated in the past six years.

Relieved of duties: Feb. 28, 2013

Est. severance package: $34 million

Groupon’s board of directors took a page out of Apple’s playbook, pulling the same stunt the computer giant did with Steve Jobs by forcing out its co-founder and CEO. Only difference is Mason was fired for the business’ poor financial performance over the past few quarters. Dude was given a severance package of only $376.36 on his way out, but as a shareholder with a 7.1 percent stake, it looks like he’s ready to snatch up $34 million as the company’s stock prices continue rising.

Relieved of duties: Oct. 8, 2007

Est. severance package: $40 million

Since the Sprint/Nextel merger, the mobile telecommunications corporation has struggled to maintain a steady market share. When its stock dropped 21 percent, board members and investors put the pressure on Forsee, which lead to his resignation and fat severance check. He caked up $20 million, in addition to stock options, pension, medical benefits, and the $84,325 he’s, for some reason, owed monthly for the rest of his life. Makes you curious to see what recent CEO Daniel Hesse has lined up.

Date fired: March 31, 2011

Est. severance package: $43 million

In disagreement over Acer’s proposed tablet strategy and its wanting to follow in the footsteps of Apple, Lanci stepped down from the CEO position and took his massive pay package with him. Turns out the cash came in handy, as Acer tried suing him for breaching the non-compete clause in his contact when joining Lenovo as a consultant seven months after quitting.

Relieved of duties: July 3, 2012

Est. severance package: $44 million

One day at Duke Energy made Bill Johnson $44 million richer. No lie. The country’s largest electric power holding company provided Johnson with the lucrative multi-million-dollar payout for what’s been said to be “20 minutes on the job.” That's nearly $2 million for each minute.

Relieved of duties: Aug. 6, 2010

Est. severance package: $50 million

Another HP CEO who scored a huge payday upon exiting the company, Hurd saw a $50 million spike in his bank account after he resigned following a sexual harassment allegation. His reward: $12.2 million in cash, 775,000 shares of stock, and 345,000 extra shares earned through performance bonuses. Guess it pays (big) to be one of the worst tech CEOs of all time.

Relieved of duties: May 22, 2012

Est. severance package: $62 million

Once the Google-Motorola merger went into action, numerous cutbacks were initiated with over 800 employees ending up on the chopping block. At the top of the list was Sanjay Jha, who caught serious flack for the mobile company's $4.3 billion loss between 2007 and 2009, leading to his resignation in 2012. Google offered him the $62 million golden parachute in exchange for his exit.

Relieved of duties: Aug. 12, 2010

Est. severance package: $158 million

The AT&T retiree snatched up the second largest payday of any former tech CEO, getting $158 million and a lifetime guarantee of 10 hours a month on the company's corporate jets. And that's exactly how he traveled during his tenure at General Motors. Bawse!

Relieved of duties: March 1, 2002

Est. severance package: $190 million

One of the few CEOs to respectfully earn their keep, Gerstner will forever be credited as the guy who saved IBM from going out of business in the ‘90s and making it profitable heading into the 2000s. So when retirement came around in 2002, he was more than happy to make out like Scrooge McDuck: banking $190 million.