Stellantis reports show AU$40m payment to the estate of Sergio Marchionne

Automotive conglomerate Stellantis forked out more than €26 million in legacy payments to its former, now deceased, CEO last year.

Before Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Groupe PSA merged at the start of last year, FCA was still finding its feet after the death of former CEO Sergio Marchionne in 2018 – the man who had spearheaded the alliance between the Italian and American marques in 2014.

However, according to financial reports from the end of Stellantis's first full year, Marchionne's estate is still being paid by the carmaker, with last year's payment totalling a touch over €26 million (AU$39.8 million).

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The report states the €26,080,867 paid to his estate was "pursuant to his employment agreement, including his post-mandate benefit of 5 x base compensation and including legacy Board payments owing from FCA US LLC".

While it's not known whether the payment is a one-off or if there are more to come over the next few years, it makes Marchionne the highest-paid person on the Stellantis books – well ahead of current CEO Carlos Tavares (€19.15m/AU$29.31m) and only just behind the company's whole board of directors (€28.8m/AU$44.24m).

Despite this, Stellantis still managed to post a net profit of €13.4 billion (AU$20.9bn) for 2021 – nearly triple its figures from a year prior – with a net revenue of €152 billion (AU$237.9bn), up 14 per cent over 2020.