Barry Diller's Third Act

Lesley Stahl Profile's One Of America's Top Internet CEOs

(CBS)  60 Minutes sat in with Diller for a morning as he met with one group of employees after the next. Discussions were brief and decisions made quickly.

Those who meet with him say his ability to grasp new and complicated concepts is uncanny. And his 20,000 employees better keep up.

"Have you ever heard your meetings described as making people crawl over barbed wire?" Stahl asks.

"Oh, please. For some people I think it is that, but look, it is absolutely process," he says.

Diller says it's not screaming and yelling but admits the process is intense.

These days, Diller is expanding IAC beyond retail, buying and creating interactive entertainment sites. He has bought CollegeHumor.com, a humor site for young men, and is developing his own original content in videos, advice, and information.

"We’re going to invest probably hundreds of millions of dollars in this over the next years," Diller says.

"The shareholders have no voice in this company," Stahl remarks. "It's the Barry Diller show, from beginning to end."

"Yeah," Diller agrees.

"They're investing in you," Stahl says.

"They're investing in this company and its assets," Diller replies. "But if you ask, 'Okay, who's the ultimate…the word "decider" is such…an embarrassing word. If you talk about something that is ever going to vote in the company, I do control the vote."

But last year, this decider had to face public scrutiny when it was revealed that he was the nation’s number one highest paid CEO, taking home a whopping $470 million in one year.

"I think that executive compensation, as a topic, is a hot-word topic. And yes, there are terrible examples of excess compensation," Diller says.

Asked if he is one of those examples, Diller says, "I don't think so."

He says most of the money came not from an inflated salary, but rather a single stock-option given him when his company was founded. And he says he put the money back into the company.
But analysts point out that in 2005 the board he controls awarded him another lump of new options.

"They gave you more stock options that same year. That came to $80 million," Stahl remarks.

Diller dismisses this: “you know, here's this thing. And I know you're doing it. And believe me, I deal in drama every day. So, I want to be just as dramatic as you. Saying, 'They gave you more stock options,' okay?" Diller says.

"They did," Stahl insists.

"What the company did is they said, 'He should have an incentive for the future,'" Diller explains. "I also don’t think, by the way, I don’t need an incentive…I'm absolutely not shy about saying that if you create something of value, then receiving compensation for it – to the skies if that’s what happens, then I do not think that that's a bad thing."

Asked if this embarrasses him, Diller says, "No. Is it more money than I need and worth or all of those things on some value scheme? Of course it is. But I did start a company. I did make all of the decisions. And that company's value grew a lot."

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Since 60 Minutes interview him, Diller has announced he is launching a new financial site for young investors, a news and entertainment site for black Web users, and a new virtual reality site for teens.

[solow8]

Gosh Leslie, you went light on this guy. He feels good about 1/2 a billion dollars a year and says money isn't important, its the vision. What vision. I never heard one. He could afford to give each of his 22,000 employees a raise of $20,000 each and still draw 30 million salary. He makes as much as 14,000 of his employees, combined. If the 14,000 didn't show up to work for a week Barry would quickly earn who earns the money and who just collects it.

In fact, it is exactly what America needs to do, a workers strike so people like Barry can see that the unfairness has gone too far.

Leslie, you really had an opportunity to tell the extremely rich that they are inappropriate, and you missed it.

Let's not pretend that Savage Capitalism is okay, it isn't. It is ruining our society and your story made a big deal out of a unworthy figure

[donnie900]

Oh yah.. ******* unbelievable. Der ******* heroes.. Wit de ******* fancy houses and de ******* fancy cloths.. Deyz got me ******* admirations too. It's just people I admire.. I pee down der ******* backs.

Its just de way I am.

[c1264648]

We must applaud and give a standing ovation to anyone that works hard to grow a business, and that creates job formation for tens of thousands of individuals around the world. Individuals such as Barry Diller and Diane Von Furstenberg must also be compensated for taking financial and psychological risk to create something from nothing. Moreover, Mr. Diller is being compensated more for the psychological risk that he and Diane Von Furstenberg took to actuate their vision. The rewards are commensurable with the risk. More power to them! From the creators of I DO SPORTS. COM and I DO SPORTS WITHOUT FEAR AND WITHOUT REPROACH.

[donnie900]

.. I'll pee on ya. Pee right down yer freak'n back der pal.

[donnie900]

You just.. suck me left nut der pal, and git de hell outta my neighborhood. I'll spit on ya.. Dis is just fer people live'n in cardboard boxes. Know my name? Huh? Uh-uh.. Dats cuz I'm de only guy 'round here whos farts stink!

[donnie900]

I'm gonna give yaz me poor man's speech! DIS IS WHERE I LIVE! AND NOT YOU! Yer the guy that sells me my food! Yer the guy that sells me my medicine! And you gonna hide no more from no one.

Yer a record album, pal. You and yer subsidiaries can suck my nub..

[donnie900]

Subsidiaries? Tax shelters? Overseas endeavors? These people do nothing but hide! And people who hide are afraid of something.

When you put your name on something, thats not just your pride. That's your guarantee! "This product is something I market, and I'll put my name on it."

You people! You corporate bigwigs! You used to be something special! You used to be something to admire! Now you're running away from home.

[donnie900]

Why don't companies want anybody to know who they are anymore?

[greedwar]

Upon viewing Leslie Stahl's story on Barry Diller, I've learned who's behind such monopolies as Ticketmaster. Leslie Stahl always asks the easy questions, and is by far the most nonconfrontational, uninteresting interviewer on 60 Minutes.
If Leslie's interview suggests that Barry Diller feels he is a CEO for the "vision" and not the "money", then why would there be such complacency with his company's convenience charges? If Barry Diller is so concerned with Ticketmaster's vision, then why does he represent a company that collects $10 on every $30 ticket charge? Cleary Barry Diller's vision is that music fans should expect to pay a 25% sum for something unrelated to music or the venue. Is his use of words like "convenience charge" an example of this vision? This story was painted like he was a unique icon as oppossed to the stereotypical power and money hungry CEO.

Ed Green
Musician

[avantinet]

Barry Diller can afford to be a visionary.You can make hugh financial mistakes and proceed on to the next venture. Thanks 60 Minutes for that wonderful profile. How about How Paris Hilton worked here way up through the business world next?

[truthinbiz]

I work for a Barry Diller company. While his "incentive" may motivate him, it has the opposite effect on employees.

[lovelymom1]

HE Should Have never even been asked was it for money. Yes, we all work for money.(for the challenge of the impossible.) Some dream, some do. some work for those who do. Shame on America for being hard on smart men and women who actually make it and take it. He has earned it. He said during the interview he wasn't worth what they where paying him.(shame on HIM) for allowing anyone to make HIM feel bad for earning a healthy living. Everyone in the World is worth that kind of money. If people would stop whinning and give all they have and get off their duff, we would all have. We could all be happy. The Bible says there will always be poor among us. It will rain on the just and unjust. All money belongs to God. Isn't it good he allows us to keep 90% of what we earn. I live paycheck to paycheck and barely do that. So I am not a rich person defending a rich person. Americans Have created a stock exchange system that people think they should be able to invest, sit on a couch and the men and women that earn all that money for them get what the invester thinks is fair? They work 60-80 hour, week don't see their famlies. I think The system is broke. Most of those companies he ownes he didn't have to take to the stocks except for tax reasons and other things. He doesn't need you to buy his stock to live. Could you not see he loved what he did. The America system made it so he could not be a propriter.

[solojojo]

"It's not the money, it's not the money, it's not the money" How many times did the Dillers say that? Why not take 70 million, divide it amongst his 20,000 employees who work hard because it "is" about the money and take "only" 400 million for the Diller household? Did he ever think of that? Was that ever one of his visions? Can you say "corporate greed"?

[jweihe]

Everyone agrees of course that if you start and make something you desearve to be compensated for it. In fact compensated with all profits after taxes, bills and payroll. But once you sell it, or go public, it no longer belongs to just you. It belongs to whomever bought it, in this case, the shareholders. This was not an inspiring story about a great American business person, but just another story, in a long line, of CEO and management greed and over compensation where once again shareholders pay the price. Oh yeah, and it's not about the money. Whatever!

[blimeylimey-2009]

Barry is a very bright man. Good luck to him and his ideas. Of course he said the dreaded sentence - "it isnt about money". Okay. What I would like to know is how he compensates his employees. I know person totally responsible for an entire magazine. His CEO takes home a bonu;s of seven million. He doesn't get $30,000. Now that would have been a good question Lesley.