SEATTLE, Washington (From the Daily Mail) -- The CEO of a timber management company refused $1.85million worth of stock because he hadn't done enough to deserve the bonus, an SEC filing reported.

Rick Holley, who heads Seattle-based Plum Creek Timber, returned 44,445 shares of company stock, claiming he didn't earn it because shareholders did not enjoy an increase in returns.

Even the board of directors couldn't believe an executive would pass up millions as a matter of conscience.

Holley told Fortune the board was 'surprised' when he decided to return the bonus.

'I told them I wasn't asking for their approval. They had given these to me and I appreciated their confidence in me, but I didn't feel comfortable taking them.'

The numbers, Holley said, just didn't show the strong performance he believed was deserving of a bonus.

'This has been a year where total shareholder returns are down 10% or more,' he said. 'It just wasn't the right thing to do.'

Holley likely won't be hurting financially, as the Plum Creek chief took home over $8 million in 2013 and still owns stock valued at $11.8 million in the company.

The list of executives willing to forgo the extra compensation is short.
In January, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty turned down her 2013 performance bonus after the company's stock dropped for seven straight quarters, the Washington Post reported.

The chief executive at Barclays, Antony Jenkins, turned down his bonus for 2013, the year the bank was forced to raise billions from stockholders to shore up its books.

But the CEO still made off with 1.9 million shares of Barclays stock, valued at over $6 million at the time, the Guardian reported.

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