Oil Giant Vitol Handed Record $2.2 Billion Payout to Its Traders

Vitol Group paid a record $2.2 billion to its executives and staff through share buybacks last year, an unusually large payout that comes as the oil trader undergoes a generational transition in leadership.

The buyback -- Vitol’s main way of rewarding about 350 top employees who own the privately-held company -- means the trading house has distributed a total of more than $14 billion in the past 15 years to its partners, according to the company’s audited annual accounts, seen by Bloomberg News.