Aviation's most outspoken CEO is in line for a $175 million payday

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary is in line for a huge windfall.

On Friday, the budget airline announced it had agreed on a new contract to keep O’Leary in the role until 2032.

In addition to “a modest annual salary and a capped annual bonus,” there’s also a bonus tied to share purchase options.

If the company meets ambitious goals, O’Leary could be allowed to purchase 10 million shares at 26.70 euros, or about $30.60.

Ryanair said this was “the prevailing market share price” before declining due to the war in Iran.

O’Leary’s big payout depends on either the company’s full-year profit growing over 4 billion euros ($4.58 billion) — a 77% increase — or on its share price exceeding 42 euros for 28 consecutive days.

So, if he were able to buy those shares worth 42 euros each, at the strike price of 26.7 euros, he would be benefiting by 153 million euros, or about $175 million.

In his former contract, O’Leary had a similar incentive, which required him to increase Ryanair’s share price from around 11 euros to 21 euros, at which point he was eligible to buy share options worth over 111 million euros, or $130 million.

O’Leary, who has led the Irish budget airline since 1994, already owns a 4.1% stake in Ryanair, worth more than $1 billion, according to its 2025 annual report.

In his three decades in charge, he has helped Ryanair become Europe’s biggest carrier by passenger numbers.

He also often makes headlines for being outspoken, helping promote Ryanair’s low fares and no-frills offering.

In a 2024 interview with The Wall Street Journal, the Ryanair boss defended his potential payout in his typically candid way: “If premiership footballers are earning fucking 20 million a year and [Kylian] Mbappé is being paid 130 million to go play football for fucking Real Madrid, then I think my contract is very good value for Ryanair shareholders.”