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> then up to $230M/year is "lower tax rate than his secretary" income?

Why do you think that?

The IRS thinks that too. Stock grants, assuming they're EVER taxed (which isn't a given), are taxed at a lower rate than income. But as I indicated, most are never vested in the traditional sense, and are even lower than standard capital gains.

Stock grants (RSUs, like Google gives out) are taxed as ordinary income at the moment they vest.

If you sell them immediately, then you don't pay any additional capital gains tax, because there were no capital gains from the moment you got them to the moment you sold them.

If you hold on to them, you will eventually pay capital gains on any increase in value from the moment they vested until the moment you sell them.

Perhaps, once they are vested, you could take loans against them, to get some cash while avoiding selling them.

But no matter what, they are taxed at the moment you receive them, and again at the moment they leave your possession.

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