Companies Vector Group
Vector (VGR): executive pay, fiscal 2023
Free brief. Every figure links to the company’s own filing.
Vector Group no longer files a proxy statement; its last pay data is FY2023.
CEO pay, last three years
- $17,871,658FY2021
- $10,950,867FY2022
- $17,946,650FY2023
CEO total pay was $17,946,650 in fiscal 2023, up from $10,950,867 in fiscal 2022.
FY2023: salary $2,018,678 · bonus $0 · stock awards $9,675,000 · option awards $0
Executives and directors
Full detail
Every table from the filing. Open any section.
Summary compensation table
| Named executive officer | Salary | Bonus | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Pension / NQDC | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard Lorber | $2,018,678 | $0 | $9,675,000 | $0 | $2,334,096 | $3,423,776 | $495,100 | $17,946,650 |
| President and Chief Executive Officer | ||||||||
| Richard Lampen | 682,500 | 0 | 2,902,500 | 0 | 591,855 | 404,973 | 231,885 | 4,813,713 |
| Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer | ||||||||
| J. Bryant Kirkland III | 603,750 | 0 | 1,612,500 | 0 | 232,672 | 177,323 | 9,900 | 2,636,145 |
| Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer | ||||||||
| Marc Bell | 525,000 | 0 | 1,612,500 | 0 | 151,758 | 132,531 | 9,900 | 2,431,689 |
| Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary | ||||||||
| Nicholas Anson | 682,500 | 0 | 322,500 | 0 | 575,011 | 0 | 9,900 | 1,589,911 |
| President and Chief Operating Officer of Liggett Vector Brands and Liggett | ||||||||
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column; 0 means it reported zero. Figures are as printed in the filing, without adjustment.
Three-year trend — total compensation per named executive
| Named executive officer | FY2023 total | FY2022 total | FY2021 total | Δ FY2022→2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard Lorber | $17,946,650 | $10,950,867 | $17,871,658 | ↑ +6,995,783 |
| Richard Lampen | 4,813,713 | 3,346,551 | 5,051,700 | ↑ +1,467,162 |
| J. Bryant Kirkland III | 2,636,145 | 1,915,742 | 2,010,790 | ↑ +720,403 |
| Marc Bell | 2,431,689 | 1,763,681 | 1,776,938 | ↑ +668,008 |
| Nicholas Anson | 1,589,911 | 1,531,150 | 1,451,800 | ↑ +58,761 |
Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.
Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis
The Company’s overall compensation philosophy is intended to reward its executives with fully competitive compensation, while providing opportunities to reward outstanding performance and align the interests of our executives with those of stockholders. The program aims to ensure alignment of pay and performance against preset annual and long-term goals, provide incentives that pay out in alignment with stockholder value creation, and attract and retain talented executives.
| CEO STI target (% of salary) | — |
|---|---|
| CEO LTI target (% of salary) | — |
| Independent consultant | FTI Consulting |
| Clawback policy | true |
| Anti-hedging | true |
| Anti-pledging | true |
Equity grants and outstanding awards
Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2023
| Executive | Award | Grant date | Threshold | Target | Granted | Maximum | Grant-date fair value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicholas Anson | RSU | 2023-02-15 | — | — | 25,000 | — | $322,500 |
| Richard Lampen | RSU | 2023-02-15 | — | — | 225,000 | — | 2,902,500 |
| Howard Lorber | RSU | 2023-02-15 | — | — | 750,000 | — | 9,675,000 |
| J. Bryant Kirkland III | RSU | 2023-02-15 | — | — | 125,000 | — | 1,612,500 |
| Marc Bell | RSU | 2023-02-15 | — | — | 125,000 | — | 1,612,500 |
Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type
| Named executive officer | Time-vested (RSU) | Performance-vested (PSU) | Options / SARs | % performance-vested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicholas Anson | $322,500 | $0 | $0 | 0.0% |
| Richard Lampen | 2,902,500 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Howard Lorber | 9,675,000 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% |
| J. Bryant Kirkland III | 1,612,500 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Marc Bell | 1,612,500 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% |
% performance-vested = PSU grant-date fair value ÷ (RSU + PSU + Options), a computed value with the derivation shown in the register.
Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2023
| Executive | Award | Shares unvested | Exercise price | Market value unvested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| J. Bryant Kirkland III | RSU | 10,000 | — | $112,800 |
| Richard Lampen | RSU | 18,750 | — | 211,500 |
| J. Bryant Kirkland III | RSU | 25,000 | — | 282,000 |
| J. Bryant Kirkland III | RSU | 40,000 | — | 451,200 |
| Richard Lampen | RSU | 45,000 | — | 507,600 |
| J. Bryant Kirkland III | RSU | 50,000 | — | 564,000 |
| Howard Lorber | RSU | 62,500 | — | 705,000 |
| Richard Lampen | RSU | 75,000 | — | 846,000 |
| J. Bryant Kirkland III | RSU | 75,000 | — | 846,000 |
| Richard Lampen | RSU | 90,000 | — | 1,015,200 |
| Howard Lorber | RSU | 125,000 | — | 1,410,000 |
| Richard Lampen | RSU | 135,000 | — | 1,522,800 |
| Howard Lorber | RSU | 150,000 | — | 1,692,000 |
| Howard Lorber | RSU | 225,000 | — | 2,538,000 |
| Howard Lorber | RSU | 300,000 | — | 3,384,000 |
Director compensation
| Director | Cash fees | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ronald J. BernsteinNot independent | $75,000 | $0 | — | — | $763,582 | $838,582 |
| Jean E. SharpeIndependent · Audit · Compensation and Human Capital · Corporate Responsibility and Nominating (Chair) | 110,000 | 82,275 | — | — | 16,304 | 208,579 |
| Bennett S. LeBowIndependent · Board Chair · Executive (Chair) | 80,000 | 82,275 | — | — | 43,625 | 205,900 |
| Henry C. BeinsteinIndependent · Audit (Chair) · Corporate Responsibility and Nominating | 90,000 | 82,275 | — | — | 25,721 | 197,996 |
| Paul V. CarlucciIndependent · Audit · Compensation and Human Capital | 85,000 | 82,275 | — | — | 25,193 | 192,468 |
| Barry WatkinsIndependent · Corporate Responsibility and Nominating | 80,000 | 82,275 | — | — | 2,349 | 164,624 |
| Wilson L. WhiteIndependent · Audit | 80,000 | 82,275 | — | — | 240 | 162,515 |
| Howard M. LorberEmployee director · Executive | — | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| Richard J. LampenEmployee director | — | — | — | — | — | 0 |
Board fee structure and ownership guideline
| Annual cash retainer | $75,000 |
|---|---|
| Annual equity retainer | $7,500 |
| Per board meeting fee | — |
| Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov) | 10,000 / 10,000 / 25,000 |
| Stock ownership guideline | $150,000 |
Total cost of the board
| Component | FY2023 |
|---|---|
| Cash retainers and fees | $600,000 |
| Equity awards (grant-date value) | $493,650 |
| All other compensation | $877,014 |
| Total cost of the board | $1,970,664 |
Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.
Peer group, and who names Vector as a peer
Companies that benchmark against VGR
2 companies name VGR as a compensation peer
- BOSTON BEER CO INCSAMFY2025
- EDGEWELL PERSONAL CARE CoEPCFY2025
Each company listed discloses VGR in its own benchmarking peer group, as disclosed in each company's most recent proxy statement within the last two proxy seasons. Two companies are therefore absent by design: one that named VGR in an earlier year and no longer does, and one whose own most recent disclosure is older than the last two seasons.
Disclosed peer group — fiscal year 2023
The compensation peer group as the company disclosed it in its own proxy — the reference set behind the percentile above.
Peer reciprocity
Of the companies Vector Group names as compensation peers, which name it back in their own disclosed peer groups. A peer set the market reciprocates reads differently from one selected in a single direction.
Reciprocity shown where the peer’s own current proxy has been read — each mark is cited in the register to that peer’s filing. A dash means the peer’s current proxy was read and names no reciprocal group including Vector Group.
Chief executive pay against the peer group
Most recent fiscal-year chief executive compensation at each disclosed peer, taken from that company’s own proxy statement.
| Rank | Company | FY | Chief executive | Salary | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beyond Meat, Inc. | 2025 | Ethan Brown | $587,500 | $26,701,431 | $0 | $2,500,425 | $29,846,850 |
| 2 | Tilray Brands, Inc. | 2026 | Irwin Simon | 2,057,580 | 18,816,501 | 0 | 0 | 22,157,305 |
| 3 | Vector Group | 2023 | Howard Lorber | 2,018,678 | 9,675,000 | 0 | 2,334,096 | 17,946,650 |
| 4 | Ingredion Incorporated | 2025 | James Zallie | 1,290,929 | 6,509,237 | 1,999,964 | 2,185,980 | 12,932,234 |
| 5 | Steven Madden, Ltd. | 2025 | Edward Rosenfeld | 1,135,894 | 6,999,979 | 0 | 0 | 8,164,373 |
| 6 | The Andersons, Inc. | 2025 | William Krueger | 1,000,000 | 3,063,337 | 0 | 1,183,800 | 5,472,539 |
| 7 | The Simply Good Foods Company | 2025 | Geoff Tanner | 816,667 | 2,747,758 | — | 748,000 | 4,330,633 |
| 8 | Universal Corporation | 2026 | Preston Wigner | 828,800 | 1,849,532 | 0 | 215,900 | 3,179,995 |
| 9 | Turning Point Brands, Inc. | 2025 | Graham Purdy | 750,000 | 1,500,001 | 0 | 750,000 | 3,011,823 |
| 10 | The Boston Beer Company, Inc. | 2025 | C. James Koch | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5,695 |
| — | Canopy Growth Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | — | not in coverage universe |
Each peer’s compensation is from its most recently filed proxy; fiscal years differ by company. Each peer’s figures come from its own filings; the subject company is highlighted. Peers whose chief executive compensation is outside our coverage universe are stated as such, never left blank.
Incentive design against the same peers
| Company | Annual incentive payout | Long-term vehicle mix | PSU measures include TSR | Compensation consultant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vector Group | not disclosed | PRSU 60 · RSU 40 | not disclosed | FTI Consulting |
| Beyond Meat, Inc. | not disclosed | RSU 55 · PSU 45 | not disclosed | WTW |
| Canopy Growth Corporation | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Ingredion Incorporated | 112.5% | PSU 50 · RSU 25 · Options 25 | Yes — Relative Total Shareholder Return (rTSR) | Meridian |
| Steven Madden, Ltd. | not disclosed | PSU 52 · RSU 48 | No | Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s Human Resources & Compensation Consulting Practice |
| The Andersons, Inc. | not disclosed | PSU 60 · RSU 40 | not disclosed | Meridian Compensation Partners |
| The Boston Beer Company, Inc. | 90% | RSU 50 · PSU 50 | No | Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc. |
| The Simply Good Foods Company | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | Mercer |
| Tilray Brands, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | Korn Ferry |
| Turning Point Brands, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Universal Corporation | 26% | PSU 50 · RSU 50 | No | Meridian Compensation Partners |
Read from each company’s Compensation Discussion and Analysis: annual incentive payout as a percentage of target, the disclosed long-term vehicle mix, whether performance-share measures include a total shareholder return component, and the retained compensation consultant. “Not disclosed” appears only where the company’s filing does not state the item.
Say-on-pay history and pay ratio
| Meeting year | Meeting date | For | Against | Abstain | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2024-08-20 | 77,042,769 | 44,653,552 | 590,849 | 63% | Passed |
| 2023 | 2023-07-26 | 112,273,121 | 6,444,064 | 570,493 | 94.57% | Passed |
| 2022 | 2022-06-28 | 52,204,948 | 66,042,958 | 686,731 | 43.89% | Failed |
| 2021 | 2021-06-03 | 55,521,585 | 59,279,123 | 5,291,215 | 48.36% | Failed |
| 2020 | 2020-05-28 | 33,205,768 | 72,298,306 | 590,995 | 31.3% | Failed |
| 2019 | 2019-05-02 | 47,186,997 | 48,270,833 | 688,488 | 49.08% | Failed |
Rows are labeled by annual-meeting year, with the meeting date beside each; the vote held in a given year acts on the prior fiscal year’s compensation.
Say-on-pay — history, company’s computation
| Meeting year | Meeting date | Approval — company’s computation |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2024-08-20 | 63%a |
| 2023 | 2023-07-26 | 94.57%b |
| 2022 | 2022-06-28 | 43.89%c |
a. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares present in person or represented and entitled to vote at the meeting on such matter is required for the advisory approval of the say on pay vote, the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm, and the stockholder's advisory proposal requesting the Company to amend its governing documents to require the Chairman of the Board of Directors to be an independent director, while abstentions will have the effect of votes against each such matter.”.
b. Voting standard not stated in the filing.
c. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares represented and entitled to vote at the meeting is required for the advisory approval of Table of Contents ` the say on pay vote, the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm and the stockholder's non-binding proposal requesting the Company to amend its governing documents to require the Chairman of the Board of Directors to be an independent director and abstentions will have the effect of votes against each such matter.”.
Approval percentages are the company’s own reported computations under its own stated standard, not recomputed by Velarion. Where a company does not state a standard, none is assumed.
Insider trades since the proxy
No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.
Sources (43 citations)
Each figure is listed with the filing it comes from, where it appears in that filing, and the value as printed. Any figure can be independently confirmed against the source.
- Section 01, Howard Lorber. DEF 14A, filed 2024-07-10. Section “2023 SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE”. As printed: 17,946,650. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Richard Lampen. DEF 14A, filed 2024-07-10. Section “2023 SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE”. As printed: 4,813,713. View filing ↗
- Section 01, J. Bryant Kirkland III. DEF 14A, filed 2024-07-10. Section “2023 SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE”. As printed: 2,636,145. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Marc Bell. DEF 14A, filed 2024-07-10. Section “2023 SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE”. As printed: 2,431,689. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Nicholas Anson. DEF 14A, filed 2024-07-10. Section “2023 SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE”. As printed: 1,589,911. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Nicholas Anson RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2024-07-10. Section “GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS IN 2023” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Richard Lampen RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2024-07-10. Section “GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS IN 2023” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Howard Lorber RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2024-07-10. Section “GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS IN 2023” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, J. Bryant Kirkland III RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2024-07-10. Section “GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS IN 2023” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Marc Bell RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2024-07-10. Section “GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS IN 2023” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Ronald J. Bernstein. DEF 14A, filed 2024-07-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 838,582. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Jean E. Sharpe. DEF 14A, filed 2024-07-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 208,579. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Bennett S. LeBow. DEF 14A, filed 2024-07-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 205,900. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Henry C. Beinstein. DEF 14A, filed 2024-07-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 197,996. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Paul V. Carlucci. DEF 14A, filed 2024-07-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 192,468. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Barry Watkins. DEF 14A, filed 2024-07-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 164,624. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Wilson L. White. DEF 14A, filed 2024-07-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 162,515. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Howard M. Lorber. DEF 14A, filed 2024-07-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Richard J. Lampen. DEF 14A, filed 2024-07-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
- Section 06, 2024 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2024-08-21. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 63% (votes for as printed: 77,042,769). View filing ↗
- Section 06, 2023 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2023-07-31. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 94.57% (votes for as printed: 112,273,121). View filing ↗
- Section 06, 2022 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2022-06-30. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 43.89% (votes for as printed: 52,204,948). View filing ↗
- Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed). Computed. Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.
- Section 03b vehicle mix (computed). Computed. RSU / PSU / Options grant-date fair values summed per officer from the grants table; % performance-vested = PSU ÷ (RSU+PSU+Options).
- Section 09b board cost (computed). Computed. Cash 600,000 + equity 493,650 + all other 877,014 = 1,970,664, summed across the director compensation table rows.
- Beyond Meat, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. CEO total compensation as printed in Beyond Meat, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 29,846,850. View filing ↗
- Tilray Brands, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-09-28. CEO total compensation as printed in Tilray Brands, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 22,157,305. View filing ↗
- Vector Group (subject), Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2024-07-10. CEO total compensation as printed in Vector Group's own proxy. As printed: 17,946,650. View filing ↗
- Ingredion Incorporated, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-08. CEO total compensation as printed in Ingredion Incorporated's own proxy. As printed: 12,932,234. View filing ↗
- Steven Madden, Ltd., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-06. CEO total compensation as printed in Steven Madden, Ltd.'s own proxy. As printed: 8,164,373. View filing ↗
- The Andersons, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-11. CEO total compensation as printed in The Andersons, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 5,472,539. View filing ↗
- The Simply Good Foods Company, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2025-12-17. CEO total compensation as printed in The Simply Good Foods Company's own proxy. As printed: 4,330,633. View filing ↗
- Universal Corporation, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. CEO total compensation as printed in Universal Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 3,179,995. View filing ↗
- Turning Point Brands, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-25. CEO total compensation as printed in Turning Point Brands, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 3,011,823. View filing ↗
- The Boston Beer Company, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. CEO total compensation as printed in The Boston Beer Company, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 5,695. View filing ↗
- Section 10a, The Andersons, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. The Andersons, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Vector Group. View filing ↗
- Section 10a, Steven Madden, Ltd. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Steven Madden, Ltd.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Vector Group. View filing ↗
- Section 10a, Beyond Meat, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Beyond Meat, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Vector Group. View filing ↗
- Section 10a, Tilray Brands, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Tilray Brands, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Vector Group. View filing ↗
- Section 10a, The Simply Good Foods Company reciprocity. DEF 14A. The Simply Good Foods Company's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Vector Group. View filing ↗
- Section 10a, Universal Corporation reciprocity. DEF 14A. Universal Corporation's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Vector Group. View filing ↗
- Section 10a, The Boston Beer Company, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. The Boston Beer Company, Inc. names Vector Group in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
- Section 10a, Ingredion Incorporated reciprocity. DEF 14A. Ingredion Incorporated's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Vector Group. View filing ↗