據知情人士透露，日產汽車（Nissan Motor Co.）為被撤職的前董事長卡洛斯·戈恩的全部四個子女支付了2004年至2015年間在斯坦福大學（Stanford University）就讀的學費。

一位不愿在消息公開之前透露姓名的人士表示，這項津貼是1999年起聘用戈恩擔任這家日本汽車廠商的首席執行官的合約中規定的內容。根據他子女入學年間斯坦福大學公布的收費標準，這一項在高管層中并不常見的福利至少價值60.1萬美元。

日產在聲明中拒絕對高管的薪資待遇細節進行評論。戈恩家庭的發言人表示戈恩的合約得到了日產的許可，而且其中也包括大學預科班的學費。他說，這些孩子在高中班里都名列前茅。加利福尼亞州斯坦福大學的發言人稱，美國法律禁止大學透露學費支付的信息。

65歲的戈恩因為漏報自身在日產獲得的數千萬美元收入以及濫用公司資金，在日本受到起訴。他否認這些罪狀，并在東京監獄被監禁108天之后得到保釋，正在等待審判。在斯坦福的學費之外，戈恩作為日產及其盟友雷諾（Renault SA）和三菱（Mitsubishi Motors Corp.）的首腦，還享受了其他奢華的福利，包括在四塊大陸上的多幢豪宅和在凡爾賽宮（Chateau of Versailles）舉辦的婚禮。

“極不尋常”

有錢父母賄賂頂尖大學的行政人員和導師，從而讓自己的孩子得以錄取，這類指控在近來得到曝光后，憑借財富進入美國精英大學的做法引發了熱議。

位于紐約和洛杉磯的高管薪酬咨詢公司Farient Advisors的董事長羅賓·費拉科恩指出，盡管戈恩的案例中沒有出現賄賂情況，但日產為他的子女支付學費也“很不尋常”。

費拉科恩表示：“一般只有外派工作才會提供學費補助，而且僅適用于還沒有上大學的孩子。”

日產在日本和美國的官方文件中并未包含任何有關戈恩福利的信息。按照美國法律，高管的福利屬于需要納稅的薪酬，而美國的上市公司必須向投資者公布相關信息。美國證券與交易委員會（U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission）已經著手調查位于橫濱的日產是否準確地公布了高管薪酬。日產表示會予以配合。

奢華豪宅

日本法律要求公司在財報中公布高薪管理人員的薪酬，但并不要求它們列出福利情況。

日產表示，除獲得日產、雷諾和三菱總計1,690萬美元的薪水之外，戈恩在2017年還從荷蘭合資企業日產-三菱BV（Nissan-Mitsubishi BV）獲得了890萬美元補償，卻沒有得到兩家公司中任何一家的同意。由聯盟出資的另外兩家荷蘭公司由于為戈恩在貝魯特和里約熱內盧購置與裝修豪宅，以及為戈恩與他妻子和其他8對夫妻去年在里約熱內盧嘉年華的慶典提供補貼而遭到審查。

另外，雷諾還發現，在2016年公司向凡爾賽宮進行慈善捐款后，戈恩在凡爾賽宮舉行的瑪麗·安托瓦內特主題的婚禮上獲得了5萬歐元（合5.7萬美元）的“私人報酬”。戈恩表示他已經退還了這筆費用。

戈恩至少兩個孩子就讀過的巴黎附近的私立高中，以及兩個女兒參加的成人禮舞會也得到了雷諾-日產聯盟的慈善捐贈。

戈恩的長女卡洛琳2008年從斯坦福大學畢業，隨后女兒納丁和瑪雅分別于2011年和2013年畢業，兒子安東尼則在2015年畢業。

雷諾向斯坦福大學至少進行過一次慈善捐贈。斯坦福大學的官方網站將這家法國公司列為2016-2017學年的企業捐贈者之一，不過上面沒有列出捐贈數額，也沒有表明學校在戈恩子女就讀期間是否受到過捐贈。雷諾并未回應任何關于捐贈的問題，斯坦福大學確認收到過一次捐贈，但也拒絕提供相關細節。

學校在郵件中寫道：“斯坦福將捐贈視為捐贈者與大學之間的機密事務。沒有得到捐贈者的許可，我們不會共享捐贈信息。”

在捐贈之外，斯坦福大學和巴黎的雷諾公司還有其他經濟往來。雷諾不在美國進行商業運作，不過在斯坦福大學園區附近的硅谷建有研究實驗室。它與日產、三菱以及另外35家公司都是斯坦福工程學院在2008年成立的汽車研究中心（Center for Automotive Research）的“合作伙伴”。每家公司每年會支付3.2萬美元支持中心的研究。

戈恩是一位經常拋頭露面的公共演說家。盡管他也會在其他大學發言，但在子女就讀斯坦福大學期間，他至少在學校里公開出現過5次。斯坦福的網站顯示，他曾于2007年、2010年和2014年在斯坦福大學商學院致辭，于2011年在經濟政策研究院做過展示，還于2013年在汽車研究中心發表過演講。（財富中文網）

譯者：嚴匡正

Nissan Motor Co. paid tuition for all four of ousted chairman Carlos Ghosn’s children when they attended Stanford University between 2004 and 2015, according to people familiar with the matter.

The perk was part of Ghosn’s employment contract from 1999, when he was hired as chief executive officer of the Japanese carmaker, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the information isn’t public. The benefit, which isn’t common among top executives, would have been worth at least $601,000, according to fee schedules published by Stanford during the years his children were enrolled.

In a statement, Nissan declined to comment on the details of executive compensation packages. A spokesman for the family said Ghosn’s contract was approved by Nissan and also included payment of pre-university tuition fees. The children graduated at or near the top of their high school classes, he said. A spokesman for Stanford in California said U.S. law prevented the university from giving out information about tuition payments.

Ghosn, 65, has been charged in Japan with under-reporting his income by tens of millions of dollars at Nissan and misusing company funds. He has denied wrongdoing and is awaiting trial on bail after spending 108 days in a Tokyo prison. The Stanford tuition adds to a list of lavish extras Ghosn enjoyed as the head of Nissan and its alliance partners Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors Corp., including luxury residences on four continents and a wedding party at the Chateau of Versailles.

‘Highly Unusual’

The advantage of wealth in gaining access to elite U.S. universities has emerged as a hot topic following recent allegations that rich parents bribed university administrators and coaches at top schools to gain admission for their children.

While no such payments are alleged in Ghosn’s case, it’s “highly unusual” that Nissan would pay his kids’ university fees, according to Robin Ferracone, chief executive of Farient Advisors, an executive-compensation consulting firm based in New York City and Los Angeles.

“Typically you only see tuition reimbursements as part of expatriate assignments, and those are for kids below university age,” Ferracone said.

Nissan’s official filings in Japan and the U.S., where its shares trade as American depositary receipts, didn’t include any information about Ghosn’s benefits. Under U.S. law, executives’ benefits are treated as taxable compensation, and U.S. public companies must report them to investors. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has opened an investigation into whether Yokohama-based Nissan accurately disclosed executive compensation. Nissan has said it is cooperating.

Luxury Homes

In Japan, companies are required to disclose compensation for highly paid executives in their financial reports but aren’t required to spell out the benefits they receive.

Nissan has said that Ghosn, besides collecting salaries totaling $16.9 million in 2017 from Nissan, Renault, and Mitsubishi, received $8.9 million in compensation from a Dutch joint venture, Nissan-Mitsubishi BV, without approval from either company. Two other Dutch-based ventures financed by the alliance are under scrutiny for buying and renovating luxury homes for Ghosn to use in Beirut and Rio de Janeiro, and for subsidizing an extended weekend at Rio’s Carnival celebration last year for Ghosn, his wife, and eight other couples.

Separately, Renault found that Ghosn received a “personal benefit” of 50,000 euros ($57,000) for his Marie-Antoinette-themed wedding party at Versailles in 2016 after Renault made a charitable donation to the chateau. Ghosn has said he’ll reimburse the expense.

The Renault-Nissan alliance also made philanthropic donations to a private high school near Paris attended by at least two of Ghosn’s children and to a debutante ball where two of his daughters were presented to society.

Ghosn’s eldest, Caroline, graduated from Stanford in 2008, followed by daughters Nadine and Maya in 2011 and 2013, respectively, and son Anthony in 2015.

Renault made at least one charitable donation to Stanford. A university website lists the French company as a corporate donor during the 2016-2017 academic year but it doesn’t specify the amount given or whether any was given while Ghosn’s children were students. Renault didn’t respond to questions about any donations while Stanford confirmed one was made, but declined to provide details.

“Stanford regards gifts as confidential transactions between the donor and the university and we do not share information about a gift without the permission of the donor,” the university said in an email.

The donation was separate from another financial link between Stanford and Paris-based Renault, which has no commercial operations in the U.S. but has research labs in Silicon Valley near the university campus. Along with Nissan, Mitsubishi and 35 other companies, it’s an “affiliate partner” at the Stanford engineering school’s Center for Automotive Research, founded in 2008. Each company pays $32,000 per year to support the center’s research.

Ghosn is a frequent public speaker. While he’s spoken at other universities, he made at least five public appearances at Stanford during the years his children attended. Those include speeches at the graduate school of business in 2007, 2010 and 2014, a presentation to an economic-policy research institute in 2011, and a talk at the Center for Automotive Research in 2013, according to the school’s website.