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Former MySpace CEO worth more than the company itself


The recent sale of social networking site Myspace for $35 million may have had a twist of irony to it: the chief executive officer it ousted could have bought it using his income from last year alone. Former Myspace CEO Owen Van Natta could have bought the entire site due to his stake at social networking game juggernaut Zynga, All Things Digital reported. AllThingsD reported that Van Natta, who was fired from Myspace, got some $43 million in compensation in 2010 alone. He was listed second to CEO and founder Mark Pincus as the San Francisco-based Zynga’s chief business officer, and serves on its board. Van Natta owns some three million shares outright via restricted stock units, along with 6.75 million more in options priced at a low $6.43 each. "All told, he has a 1.6 percent stake in the company. That could be worth upwards of $325 million if Zynga garners an expected $20 billion valuation. And it could be even more if its public offering pops higher as other recent Internet outings have done," AllThingsD said. After being fired, Van Natta entered into a consulting agreement with Zynga through his Luminor Group. By August, Pincus hired him full-time and made him a director. He was cited for his experience as a longtime Internet exec at Amazon and Facebook, which he left in mid-2007. In another twist of irony, Facebook - which Van Natta left after relations with CEO Mark Zuckerberg allegedly became tense - is now a critical partner for Zynga. — TJD, GMA News

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