- Costco CFO Richard Galanti received a $6.7 million pay package last year, but can be frugal at dinnertime.
- In an interview with Progressive Grocer, Galanti revealed his menu of choice when he’s home alone.
- “I will buy a rotisserie chicken, shrimp cocktail and the Kirkland Signature vanilla ice cream, which is the best,” he said.
Costco’s outgoing CFO Richard Galanti has been with the company for all but a few months of the wholesale club’s 40-year history.
Throughout the decades, one thing he’s apparently never grown tired of is the retailer’s prepared food options.
In his final full year as CFO, Galanti earned a compensation package worth $6.7 million, and owns more than $24 million worth of Costco stock as of last November, according to the company’s most recent proxy filings.
Even with his wealth, the de facto voice of the company can still be somewhat frugal when it comes to dinner.
In a recent interview with Progressive Grocer, Galanti shared his preferred shopping list for evenings when his wife is out of town and he’s eating at home.
“I will buy a rotisserie chicken, shrimp cocktail, and the Kirkland Signature vanilla ice cream, which is the best,” he said. “I’d also get some King Crab legs if they are available, and some grapes.”
Presuming he doesn’t eat all of it in one sitting, it’s a pretty light-on-the-wallet menu: $5 for the chicken, roughly $15 for the shrimp (1.6 pounds), and $15 for two half-gallon cartons of ice cream.
Accounting for recommended portions, that works out to less than $5 per individual meal: $1.25 for a quarter of the chicken, $2 for three ounces of shrimp, 60¢ for a two-thirds cup of ice cream, and 60¢ for a second helping of ice cream.
King Crab legs are certainly a splurge when they’re on sale, but grapes are, well, grapes.
As for lunch, Galanti said he’s still a fan of the $1.50 hot dog combo, which he said is “likely to stay the same for a while.”
“We have done some things to keep the price down, including building our own hot dog plant. We also built our own poultry processing facility,” he added.
In addition to dinner, Galanti said he often buys three-packs of reading glasses from the warehouse: “I’m always losing them.”
