Here's How Much Some Executives and Major Shareholders of America's Largest Gun Manufacturers Make Every Year 

How much do you make in a year? Interesting. Now here are the reported salaries and net worths of the men profiting most off of a country saturated in guns.

Christopher J. Killoy, president, CEO & director, Sturm, Ruger & Company

Reported total compensation for 2016: $2,537,773

Corporate contact: 1 Lacey Place, Southport, CT 06890; Phone: (203) 259-7843

P. James Debney, CEO & president, American Outdoor Brands Corporation (formerly Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation)

Reported total compensation for 2017: $5,301,868

Corporate contact: 2100 Roosevelt Avenue Springfield, MA 01104; Phone: (413) 781-8300

Excerpt from a 2012 profile of Debney in The Wall Street Journal:

Mr. Debney told investors in September that old-style shotguns and bolt-action rifles were on the wane and the hunting market was “soft.” But semiautomatic rifles, known in the trade as “modern sporting rifles,” were “very, very popular,” he said. He also pointed to growth prospects from “a younger demographic” that “grew up playing videogames” and was “very interested in firearms.”

Stephen Feinberg, CEO & co-founder, Cerberus Capital Management, the private equity firm that controls Remington Outdoor Company and other firearms manufacturers

Reported net worth: $1,590,000,000

Corporate contact: 875 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10022; Phone: (212) 891-2100

Excerpt from a 2008 writeup of Feinberg by Andrew Ross Sorkin in The New York Times:

He is no Gordon Gekko. He doesn’t speak with an air of invincibility; he is soft-spoken and seems uncomfortable playing the role of a mogul. He looked as if he would be more comfortable in jeans and work boots than pinstripes and wingtips (he was wearing an off-the-rack blue suit). He lives in Manhattan, but says doing so is almost against his better judgment. “I wouldn’t mind living in a small town,” he said. He drives pickup trucks (a Dodge Ram 2500 and GMC 2500).

And another from later in the same piece:

Two hours into our conversation, I’m still trying to square the circle of Mr. Feinberg. He is clearly, as one of his former colleagues described him, “wicked smart.” But he doesn’t act it. So I ask him about his experience at Princeton where he played on the tennis team, hardly the pedigree of an Average Joe.

“I probably would have been better off going to a state school,” he said. “I would have been more comfortable with the people.”

Laurence D. Fink, CEO & chairman, Blackrock Inc., the largest institutional shareholder of American Outdoor Brands Corporation

Reported total compensation for 2016: $25,500,000

Corporate contact: 55 E 52nd St, New York, NY 10055; Phone: (212) 810-5300

Excerpt from Fink’s 2018 letter to shareholders about social responsibility:

Society is demanding that companies, both public and private, serve a social purpose. To prosper over time, every company must not only deliver financial performance, but also show how it makes a positive contribution to society. Companies must benefit all of their stakeholders, including shareholders, employees, customers, and the communities in which they operate.

Are you an executive at an American arms manufacturer? Do you have information about their annual compensation that you want to share? [email protected]