Zynga CEO Mark Pincus is funny. Why? Well, according to the Wall Street Journal, he wants his early employees to return some of the stock they own before the company's initial public offering. With games like FarmVille and Mafia Wars, the San Francisco-based company grew. Grew big. Billions of dollars big. However, now Pincus some of that sweet-nectar stock back.

FOX News reports:

Early last year, as Pincus began preparing to take Zynga public, he and several other executives decided the company had doled out too many stock rights to certain people in its early days, say people familiar with the matter. The executives chose an unusual solution: They began demanding that certain employees surrender some shares or be fired.

Those shares matter as Zynga approaches an initial public offering, expected this year, that could value it at close to $20 billion and make holders of large blocks of stock wealthy.

Good grief.

Offering loads of stock options is de rigeur for many Silicon Valley startups. As AP notes, "The promise of a big payout is what gets a lot of people working long hours with little compensation early in a startup's life."

WSJ cited an unnamed source with regard to Pincus' "giver's remorse."

UPDATE: Pincus also benefitted greatly from the San Francisco's tax break after demanding it from the city in March.