As the U.S. office market began to rebound last year, the CEOs for many of the country's largest office real estate investment trusts saw their pay rise alongside the profits for their companies. But the pay for the chief executive of Manhattan's largest office landlord outpaced the company's returns.

Marc Holliday, SL Green's CEO, had an especially good year in 2021, when his total compensation jumped almost 39% as the market began to rebound from the hit it took during the height of the pandemic. Its net income rose 22% to $434.8 million, while its funds from operations, a key measure of the financial performance of REITs, fell 14.5% to $481.2 million, or 6.75% to $6.63 on a per-share basis.

Multiple measures were used to gauge performance, including SL Green's performance compared to rivals as the industry recovered from the pandemic. SL Green's executive compensation program "provides appropriate performance-based incentives that attract and retain valuable talent while aligning closely with stockholder interests," its lead independent director John Alschuler said in a statement.

He added that "in 2021, the SL Green leadership team helped deliver a 27% return to shareholders — the third highest of all publicly traded office REITs; achieved all of its sustainability and ESG goals; and outperformed expectations on leasing, completing lease-up of One Vanderbilt and more than 2 million square feet portfolio wide. The company's nearly 94% office occupancy outpaced the broader NYC office market by more than 10 points."

Both Holliday's total pay and annual salary ranked No. 1 among CEOs of 10 of the largest office REITs with the biggest stock market value, according to proxy statements released in the past month. The documents include total compensation for the named executive officers, or highest-pay employees. In general, total CEO pay at the largest U.S. office REITs increased between about 8% and 21% last year, including for Alexandria Real Estate Equities' Peter Moglia and Stephen Richardson, Kilroy Realty Corp.'s John Kilroy and Boston Properties' Owen Thomas.

In Holliday's case, his compensation last year totaled nearly $21.1 million, up nearly $6 million from 2020, thanks mostly to a nearly 50% increase in stock awards, according to SL Green's proxy statement. His base salary in 2021 was $1.25 million, the same as in 2020 and 2019. In the proxy statement, SL Green said Holliday's bonus was "determined formulaically based on performance relative to objective bonus criteria established by the committee in January 2021." It added that the total direct compensation "amount reflects the earning of 269% of base salary."

Holliday's pay also draws attention because it was at the center of criticism last year, with nearly 66% of shareholders voting against a compensation package that would have given him about $14.8 million in addition to his salary of $1.25 million for 2020. SL Green's revenue dropped 16% in 2020 as the pandemic hurt office markets across the country, particularly Manhattan's.

The performance of office REITs rebounded in 2021 after suffering the previous year, when companies across the country sent employees to work from home after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2020. In 2021, office REITs produced an investment return of 22%, according to the National Association of REITS, known as Nareit. In 2020, office REITs on Nareit's index had a return of negative 18.4%.

At Alexandria, the largest U.S. office REIT, with a stock market value of nearly $31 billion, co-CEOs Moglia and Richardson received raises of less than 3% last year, according to Alexandria's proxy, while Alexandria's net income fell nearly 26% to $563.4 million in 2021, its funds from operations rose 24% to $1.14 billion. Alexandria founder and Executive Chairman Joel Marcus' total 2021 compensation package of $12.7 million was about 7.7% higher than his 2020 pay of nearly $11.8 million, according to the proxy statement. The REIT didn't immediately respond to a request to comment.

While CEO compensation at office REITs generally increased last year, Vornado Realty Trust proved to be an exception in 2021, when the total amount it paid Chairman and CEO Steven Roth dropped 11.6% to $9.76 million. While Roth's annual salary increased to $824,821 after being affected by a partial salary waiver at the height of the pandemic, the value of the restricted share awards he received fell 17.1% to approximately $7.87 million, according to Vornado's 2022 proxy statement.

Vornado's net income last year was $101.1 million compared to a net loss of $348.7 million in 2020, while its funds from operations fell about 24% to $571 million. The REIT did not immediately respond to a request to comment about Roth's compensation. However, in its proxy, Vornado said Roth received restricted units with a grant date value of  $753,014 on Jan. 12, $756,013 on Jan. 20 2021, and $834,021 on Jan. 13, 2020, in lieu of his 2021, 2020 and 2019 cash bonuses.

As for chief executives at some of the other largest U.S. office REITs, Kilroy CEO John Kilroy earned a compensation package valued at $13.1 million last year, according to the company's 2022 proxy statement. John Kilroy's overall compensation increased last year by approximately 10% over 2020. While his salary remained the same as in 2020, the amount of stock awards and nonequity incentive plan compensation increased.

The REIT's funds from operations rose about 6.7% to $462.3 million in 2021, while net income jumped more than 235% to $628.1 million in 2021, boosted by property sales. It didn't immediately respond to a request to comment.

Thomas, CEO at Boston Properties, saw his 2021 total compensation increase more than 20% to nearly $12.9 million, according to the REIT's proxy statement. Thomas' 2021 pay included incentive pay compensation that was paid in cash this year for overall performance last year under Boston Properties' 2021 annual incentive plan, the proxy statement said. It didn't immediately respond to a request to comment.

In 2021, Boston Properties' net income fell more than 42%, primarily because the REIT recorded $495.3 million in higher gains on property sales in 2020. Its funds from operations increased nearly 5% in 2021 to just over $1 billion.