There is no reasonable amount by which he could cut his compensation that wouldn't result in whiners complaining that "it wasn't enough of a cut".

If he's going to catch heat for it anyway, he might as well take what he's contractually entitled to.

They could set it to zero, which would be in-line with severity of laying off of 10+ year high performers or those who are pregnant or on medical leave. I'd like to see an automatic condition where layoffs trigger a requirement that the directors and officers compensation will be set to zero for the next three years. You're basically severely fucking with people's lives and this has very real consequences for those people and society in general who has to pick up the pieces.

They can definitely survive for a few years without salary too. 200M is be enough to last most people decades and more yet they get that much every year

200M is enough to last any person intergenerationally along with their children and grandchildren. Not disagreeing with you, just a point of emphasis.

You're 100% correct, honestly I was just trying not to come off as being too hyperbolic

The average tenure of corporate CEOs is what <7 years? Why the hell would you intentionally cut your pay knowing you have a short half in the gig and for doing the job you were hired to do?

how long do regular workers stay on average at a company? 7 years is a pretty long time

Most regular workers leave generally it’s on their own accord. When a corporate CEO leaves, it’s generally because they are fired.

If I am working for a company where the role I am in has a statistical likelihood that I will be fired in the near future, I am going to take every comp dollar I can get and not offer any compensation sacrifices for optics sake.

For some people, enough money is enough money and you start to think about your legacy. Or maybe your coworkers that toil for so much less. Will another $200m make any difference at all for someone with that kind of money?

Those people don't end up at the top mostly. You need a unending thirst of money and power to make it as CEO of Google and stay there. The same happens in politics actually.