Deripaska pledges $40m to charity

The Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska is donating two-thirds of a $62m (£40m) bonus for the successful flotation of aluminium giant Rusal to charity. Mr Deripaska is required to hold on to the stock options for two years, but they will then be spent helping to set up service companies and industrial ventures in areas where Rusal operates. The payout drew particular attention when it was made public last week because Rusal's shares are still trading at less than the opening price at the initial public offering in Hong Kong in January, despite a 10 per cent increase in the Hang Seng index. Mr Deripaska's bonus comes on top of a $10m basic salary that dwarfs that of rivals such as Marius Kloppers at BHP Billiton. But he defended his pay packet. "Spending time in London or New York is very different to flying into Nigeria to free staff or to oversee a construction in minus 41 degrees in Siberia," he said. "It's certainly nicer to sit at home by 7pm wearing carpet slippers."