National Rifle Association executive vice president and CEO Wayne LaPierre received a hefty bump in pay between 2014 and 2015: his compensation rose by more than $4 million, thanks to a retirement payout, the Washington Post reports. According to the organization’s tax form, LaPierre made $5,110,985 in annual compensation from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2015. LaPierre made $985,885 in 2014. Most of the salary jump was due to the payout of a $3.7 million retirement plan.
According to the tax filing, the NRA saw a bump in total revenue in 2015, but a dip in contributions. The NRA took in more than $336 million in total gross revenue in 2015, an increase of about $26 million from the year before. LaPierre also received a raise in his annual salary, taking in $1,090,515 in base compensation in 2015, as well as a $150,000 bonus. LaPierre also reported retirement and deferred compensation income, as well as nontaxable benefits. “This is extraordinarily well-deserved compensation for Wayne’s almost four decades of service in protection of our American freedom,” said NRA executive Allan Cors, “and it represents tremendous value for NRA members and our nation’s gun owners.” Erika Soto Lamb of Everytown for Gun Safety responded that, “Responsible gun owners and dues-paying NRA members — the vast majority of whom support common sense policies to keep guns out of the wrong hands — should ask themselves if this is really how they want their hard-earned money spent.”