HCA chief's massive compensation just misses $50M club

HCA Holdings' Richard Bracken fell short of the $50 million CEO club, but not by much.

Bracken, CEO of the USA's largest for-profit hospital operator, also known as Hospital Corporation of America, received compensation and pulled in gains from stock valued at about $48 million last year, HCA said in a Thursday proxy filing. That compares to 2011 compensation valued at about $5.7 million.

Much of the gains were due to special, $6.50 a share dividends paid on vested stock options. Bracken earned $21.4 million from the dividends alone. His other compensation included $1.4 million in pay, $11.8 million in stock option appreciation rights, $3.3 million in incentive pay. He gained another $9.3 million exercising previously awarded options.

HCA says the value of Bracken's deferred pay and pension gained $7.8 million.

Bracken, 60, has been CEO of the 135-hospital chain since January 2009. Bracken's 2012 compensation and options gains fall just below a slew of peers who've received pay and stock gains of at least $50 million, including Honeywell's David Cote, Gilead Science's John Martin, American Express CEO Ken Chenault and Allergan CEO David Pyott.

HCA said including special dividends, 2012 shareholder return was up 66.5%.