Getting on Microsoft's good side can earn you $100,000

One lucky Sun exec has found out just how much getting along with Microsoft can be worth - $100,000.

According to a filing Sun made with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) about its financial dealings for the past year, Mark Tolliver, ex-executive VP and chief strategy officer at Sun, pocketed the not insubstantial sum for his work in brokering the $2bn truce with Microsoft.

Tolliver, who left Sun in April, trousered a total of over $527,760 according to the filing, which says of his bonus: "includes special recognition bonus in the amount of $450,000, including $100,000 related to our settlement with Microsoft."

While Tolliver may be rubbing his hands all the way to the bank, the one man whose salary slip doesn't resemble a phone number is CEO Scott McNealy. Sun's number one took home $100,000 for financial 2004; COO and president Jonathan Schwartz got $559,435 and a $107,819 bonus. McNealy's bonus is listed as non-existent.

The Sun CEO may yet get a healthy bonus, though. The SEC filing says: "McNealy will receive a bonus of $625,000 for fiscal 2004 if Sun achieves three consecutive quarters of operating profitability and year over year revenue growth on or by the end of fiscal 2007."