Schwab Founder Refuses $4.5-Million Bonus

Charles Schwab, founder and chief executive of the discount brokerage firm that bears his name, declined to accept a $4.5-million bonus, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday.

Charles Schwab Corp. shares rose 1% last year, lagging behind a 15% rise in the Amex Broker-Dealer index.

The stock rose 34 cents Wednesday to $10.43 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Schwab, who owns 19.4% of the San Francisco-based company, collected a $900,000 salary for his work in 2004, unchanged from 2003, according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Schwab turned down a bonus of $3.3 million for 2003 and declined an unspecified amount of 2002 bonus money, according to company spokesman Greg Gable.

For five months during 2001, Schwab voluntarily gave up 50% of his salary. He wasn’t eligible to receive a bonus that year under a formula based on corporate performance, Gable said.