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Published 13:39 30 Mar 2026 GMT
Five Guys CEO gave his employees $1.5 million bonus amid fears he would be assassinated
The CEO of Five Guys has revealed he handed out a $1.5 million bonus to staff amid fears he would be assassinated after a chaotic promotion left workers overwhelmed.
Jerry Murrell, 82, who founded the burger chain in 1986, said the payout came after the company’s buy-one-get-one-free deal to celebrate its 40th anniversary spiralled out of control.
The offer drew massive crowds, with customers lining streets outside stores, apps crashing, and some locations running out of food before being forced to end the promotion early.
The backlash was swift, but Murrell said he wanted to make things right for the employees.
"I didn’t want anybody shooting me in the back or anything after the first day, because we really screwed it up. We had no idea that we were going to get that kind of response," he told Fortune.
Bonus Payout
The $1.5 million bonus was split among around 1,500 workers, with Murrell saying staff had been pushed to their limits during the promotion. "They worked so hard. They were so overwhelmed," he said.
The CEO joked that he was "gonna buy my wife a new fur coat" with the money before deciding to reward employees instead. "She still looks at me like I’m stupid, but I thought it was worth it," he added.
The company later issued a public apology after the promotion failed to meet expectations. "We let you down, and we’re sorry," Five Guys said in a statement.
It later relaunched the promotion for four days in March, telling customers: "You visited our restaurants in overwhelming numbers, and we weren't ready for you. We didn't meet our own standards, and that's not something we take lightly. So we’re asking for a do-over."
Comment Linked To High-Profile CEO Killing
Murrell’s remark about being "shot in the back" appeared to reference the December 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Thompson, 50, was gunned down outside a Manhattan hotel while heading to an investor conference. Police allege he was shot from behind by Luigi Mangione, who was later arrested after a manhunt.
Mangione is facing both state and federal charges and has pleaded not guilty. His legal team has argued that the case has been mishandled publicly, while court proceedings continue.
The shocking killing sparked widespread debate online, with some reacting controversially to the news.
On January 30, a federal district judge ruled that Mangione will not face the death penalty. The decision was a loss for federal prosecutors, who had been determined to pursue the death penalty in this high-profile case.
Per CNN, prosecutors had contended that the killing occurred during a "crime of violence," citing two stalking charges against Mangione. They also argued that the suspect had stalked Thompson online and traveled across state lines to carry out the murder.
However, Judge Margaret Garnett disagreed with the prosecution’s assessment, stating that stalking does not qualify as a "crime of violence" under federal law.
As a result, the judge dismissed both the murder charge and a related firearm offense from the federal case.