[PButtNutter]

Some tech companies kinda do it by paying employees in stock. The highest paid employee at Amazon only makes $150,000 cash, while the company creates shares of stock to fund the rest of their compensation. Those are actual shares that get taxes as income, not options.

Since Amazon doesn't participate in stock buy-backs, like most tech companies do, most of the salaries are actually funded by stock holders in the dilution of their shares.

[vijayr02]

Is that really the case? Let's say Amazon paid all salaries in cash. Also, for simplicity let's says employees view cash and stock compensation as perfect substitutes. Then the addition compensation has to be funded by Amazon - if it won't do so from cash from operations or debt, it has to come from raising equity: Which in effect is the same as paying employees in stock.