Real Estate’s High-Pay Exit: “Ten Million-a-Year Salaries” Vanish; Yu Liang’s Salary Was 240,000 Last Year, or 24 万

As the real estate industry undergoes deep adjustments, the compensation system for senior executives in property companies is experiencing an unprecedented restructuring.

Recently, the annual reports of listed property companies for 2025 have been released in bulk, and data from several companies that disclosed executive compensation show: the “work emperor” earning tens of millions annually has nearly disappeared, and only a few property companies can still pay stable million-yuan salaries.

At the same time, those still facing credit risks and with sharply declining profits see their executive pay continue to shrink, with some well-known company executives’ annual salaries dropping to ordinary workplace levels.

From the “Million-Yuan Club” to the “Million-Yuan Survival Line,” the contraction of executive compensation in property companies is not only a result of performance changes but also a reflection of the re-pricing of industry risks.

Yu Liang earned 240k yuan at Vanke last year

Once a benchmark for high executive salaries, Vanke’s executive pay has nearly plummeted off a “cliff.”

According to the recent annual report of Vanke A(000002.SZ), in 2025, Vanke achieved operating revenue of 233.4 billion yuan, down 32% year-on-year, with a loss of 88.6 billion yuan, a significant increase from the previous year. Due to various factors, Vanke’s risks have not been fully resolved, and its operational development still faces severe challenges.

Correspondingly, Vanke’s executive salaries continue to shrink. In 2025, the total pre-tax compensation for all full-time directors, supervisors, and senior managers was 7.02 million yuan. Vanke stipulates that directors and supervisors who work full-time at the company do not receive director or supervisor duties’ remuneration but are paid only based on their work performance.

Among them, Vanke Chairman Huang Liping, having already received compensation from related parties, has “zero salary” at Vanke.

Former Chairman of the Board and Executive Vice President Yu Liang, who worked at Vanke until January 2026, received 242k yuan in 2025; former President and CEO Zhu Jiusheng, who had already left in January 2025, received a pre-tax total of 21k yuan.

Even the properly performing Executive Vice President and CFO Han Huihua’s annual salary was only 240k yuan, far from the peak industry levels.

When Vanke’s performance and profits were at their peak, senior management salaries reached tens of millions. For example, Yu Liang’s pre-tax salaries in 2019 and 2020 were 12.51 million and 12.47 million yuan respectively, and Zhu Jiusheng’s salaries in those two years also exceeded 11.2 million yuan.

In 2020, the total pre-tax compensation for 7 directors, supervisors, and senior managers at Vanke was 58.19 million yuan, which shrank by 88% by 2025.

The turning point came in 2021, despite Vanke’s net profit reaching a peak of 38.1 billion yuan, a crisis awareness had already set in among executives. That year, the combined pre-tax compensation of 8 directors, supervisors, and senior managers dropped 50% compared to 2020. Chairman Yu Liang voluntarily waived his entire annual bonus, causing his salary to plunge from tens of millions to 1.54 million yuan.

Since then, as Vanke’s operational situation worsened and net profit declined, Yu Liang’s salary continued to decrease.

According to Vanke’s 2023 annual report, the 8 full-time directors, supervisors, and senior managers at Vanke voluntarily waived their bonuses for 2023. Additionally, from the date of disclosure, Chairman Yu Liang, President Zhu Jiusheng, and Supervisor Chairman Jie Dong voluntarily received a monthly pre-tax salary of 10k yuan. Vanke’s 2024 annual report shows Yu Liang’s total pre-tax compensation for that year was 336k yuan.

For Vanke, the downward trend in executive pay still seems to have no “bottom.”

Some executives’ pay has halved compared to peak levels

A similar situation also occurred at Jindi Group (600383.SH).

After a net loss of 13.3 billion yuan last year, Jindi’s executive compensation also shrank accordingly. According to the annual report disclosed by Jindi on April 3, the company achieved revenue of 35.9 billion yuan, down 52% year-on-year, with a net profit attributable to shareholders of -13.3 billion yuan.

The report also disclosed that Chairman Xu Jiajun’s pre-tax salary in 2025 was 1.99 million yuan, a 13% decrease from 2.28 million yuan the previous year.

Jindi’s Director, President, and CFO Li Ronghui’s pre-tax annual salary was 1.93 million yuan, down from 2.17 million yuan in 2024.

Additionally, several senior vice presidents at Jindi earned pre-tax salaries of 1.69 million yuan, and the total pre-tax compensation for all directors and senior managers during the reporting period was 19.61 million yuan, a 27% decrease year-on-year.

In 2019, Jindi Group paid a total of 67.71 million yuan in compensation to directors and senior executives, with Chairman Ling Ke earning 9.79 million yuan that year. Xu Jiajun, then a senior vice president and board secretary, earned 4.05 million yuan, twice the current level.

In contrast, Xincheng Holdings (601155.SH), which still maintains profitability, shows a more “moderate decline.”

In 2025, Xincheng Holdings achieved revenue of 53 billion yuan and a net profit attributable to shareholders of 680 million yuan, maintaining stable performance and profits in recent years.

Therefore, executive compensation at Xincheng Holdings has remained relatively stable. According to the annual report, Chairman and President Wang Xiaosong’s annual salary was 3.3 million yuan, a decrease of 340k yuan from the previous year. CFO Guan Youdong’s pre-tax annual salary was 3.3679 million yuan, only slightly less than the previous year.

Xincheng Holdings states that the compensation for its senior management is determined based on the performance evaluation system set by the HR department, the positions and responsibilities of senior managers, and the company’s operational results, with reference to industry salary levels.

Although Xincheng Holdings is one of the few private property companies that has not defaulted on debt during the real estate downturn, its executive pay has still been significantly impacted.

For example, Wang Xiaosong’s pre-tax salary in 2019 once reached 6 million yuan. Earlier, when Wang Zhenhua was chairman, his salary was also 6 million yuan. Many co-presidents and senior vice presidents at Xincheng Holdings also earned around 6 million yuan annually, but now Wang Xiaosong’s pay has nearly halved, and other executives’ salaries have shrunk considerably.

Central and state-owned real estate enterprises maintain “stability” in pay

While some mixed-ownership and private property companies have undergone drastic deleveraging, central and state-owned enterprises show a markedly different rhythm — with “stability” running throughout.

CITIC China (001979.SZ) achieved revenue of 154.7 billion yuan and net profit of about 1 billion yuan in 2025, with overall executive compensation remaining stable: Chairman Zhu Wenkai’s pre-tax salary was 2.55 million yuan, General Manager Nie Liming earned 710k yuan, and Vice Presidents Wu Bin and Lü Bin received 1.99 million and 2.12 million yuan respectively, with little difference from the previous year.

China Jinmao (00817.HK) is one of the few to achieve “counter-cyclical growth.” In 2025, Jinmao’s sales and profits both increased, and executive compensation also rose. The total remuneration of directors and top executives reached 13.25 million yuan, up over 20% year-on-year. Chairman and CEO Tao Tianhai’s annual salary was 3.5 million yuan, and CFO Qiao Xiaojie earned 3.07 million yuan.

Local state-owned enterprises also remain restrained. China Enterprise (600675.SH) turned profitable in 2025, but executive pay did not rise accordingly; instead, it decreased from 6.99 million yuan to 6.18 million yuan. Several executives’ annual salaries ranged from 800k to 1.4 million yuan, with some directors taking “zero salary” due to positions in affiliated companies.

It is evident that the salary systems of central and state-owned enterprises are more linked to institutional, performance, and tenure management, with far less fluctuation than market-oriented property companies. In the midst of industry turbulence, this “dampened” sensitivity has become a stabilizer.

Looking at the longer timeline, the changes in executive compensation in China’s real estate industry are almost a condensed history of the industry’s rise and fall.

During the upward cycle from 2016 to 2020, expansion and high-turnover models fueled numerous “high-salary myths.” At that time, tens of millions in annual salary were not uncommon in the real estate sector, with some companies even stacking equity incentives with cash salaries, creating “work emperors” earning over a billion annually.

Recent salary data shows that executive pay in property companies is now highly correlated with profitability; when companies lose money, salaries are sharply cut. In some distressed firms, symbolic salary payments to management have even become routine.

From the disclosed executive compensation data, market-oriented property companies have experienced significant fluctuations in recent years, while central and state-owned enterprises maintain institutional stability, forming two distinctly different compensation trajectories.

For industry practitioners, the era of high returns driven by high leverage is a thing of the past. It has been replaced by slower growth, stronger constraints, and longer, more uncertain cycles. Those once at the industry’s peak, with salaries dropping from tens of millions to hundreds of thousands or less, reflect not only personal income changes but also the exit of an era. As the “high-salary myth” gradually dissipates, the attractiveness of the real estate industry is being reshaped.

(This article is from First Financial)