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Industrial icon Frank Stronach has taken a pay cut. And it’s a big one.

The hard-driving chair of Magna International Inc., who regularly leads executive compensation for publicly traded companies in Canada, collected at least $30 million (U.S) less last year than in 2007, the company disclosed yesterday.

The cut could be much bigger when his final pay figures for 2008 come out in other Magna filings next month.

But it’s all relative since Stronach, who controls Magna through the magic of multiple voting shares, will still take home more than $10 million (Canadian). The 2008 pay follows annual compensation packages that were some of the largest in Canadian corporate history.

In 2007, Stronach collected a stunning $70.6 million through a combination of consulting fees, the exercising of stock options and base salary. That’s the equivalent of more than $1.35 million a week.

But Magna revealed a big cut in Stronach’s 2008 compensation package deep in its fourth-quarter results, which showed heavy losses for the auto parts manufacturing giant low interest rate personal loans.

The company said it had set aside $10 million (U.S.) for "business development, consulting and other services" for the "chairman of the board" and his affiliates in 2008. That’s a huge drop from the $40 million (or $40.6 million Canadian) that the company had expensed for him for similar services in 2007.

In that year, Stronach also gained a whopping $27.3 million (Canadian) by exercising stock rights, $215,000 in base salary and other fees.

The exercise of option rights in 2007 proved extremely timely since the company’s stock price tumbled dramatically last year.

The outspoken Stronach, who founded Magna more than 50 years ago, will likely collect his base salary but not exercise any more stock options or collect bonuses for 2008 since the company’s financial performance declined significantly.

Stronach, 76, could not be reached for comment yesterday about the steep drop in his consulting fees.

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