CEO pay hits record highs: Meet the top earners

[midian182]

In brief: Want to earn millions of dollars every year? If you're not cut out to be a world-class pro sports player, the next best option might be a CEO. Somewhat surprisingly, the list of best-paid executives isn't topped by Jensen Huang or Tim Cook, but by Broadcom boss Hock Tan, though his $162 million compensation comes with some caveats.

The amount of compensation CEOs receive at many Fortune 500 companies has risen dramatically over the last five years, reports the Wall Street Journal, with half the execs making at least $15.7 million – a record median CEO pay.

Topping the list as the best-paid CEO is Broadcom's Hock Tan. He was awarded a massive $162 million in compensation last year, but he'll only receive this full amount if conditions are met: Broadcom's share price must reach certain targets after October 2025, and Tan must stay on the job for five years, during which time he won't get more equity or cash bonuses.

Broadcom has seen its shares rise 27% this year and 106% over the past 12 months, taking its market cap to $655 billion.

Pay Rank	CEO	Company	Total Pay (Millions)	Cash Pay (Millions)	Change from 2022
1	Hock Tan	Broadcom	$161.83	$1.20	+167%
2	Nikesh Arora	Palo Alto Networks	$151.43	$2.25	+1,355%
3	Stephen Schwarzman	Blackstone	$119.78	$0.35	-52.7%
4	Christopher Winfrey	Charter Communications	$89.08	$5.20	+470%
5	Will Lansing	Fair Isaac	$66.35	$1.95	+251%
6	Tim Cook	Apple	$63.21	$13.71	-36.4%
7	Hamid Moghadam	Prologis	$50.89	$1.91	+5.7%
8	Theodore Sarandos	Netflix	$49.83	$19.54	-0.9%
9	David Zaslav	Warner Bros. Discovery	$49.70	$25.00	+26.5%
10	Glenn Fogel	Booking Holdings	$46.72	$5.75	+51.8%

Courtesy: WSJ

Sitting behind Tan in second place is Nikesh Arora, CEO of Palo Alto Networks, whose compensation reached $151 million, mostly in the form of equity awards that included shares granted and paid over three years. Blackstone's Steven Schwarzman was third with $120 million.

The WSJ also notes that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who didn't make the top ten, saw his restricted stock quadruple in value in late January, to $107.5 million. It was recently reported that Huang's compensation increased significantly during the last (2024) financial year, jumping 60% to $34.2 million, which included $26.7 million of restricted stock. Huang could receive 50% to 100% more shares than originally targeted if Nvidia meets performance criteria.

While Huang didn't make the top ten, Apple CEO Tim Cook was sixth thanks to his total pay of $63.21 million last year, down 36.4% YoY. Netflix's Theodore Sarandos is eighth ($49.8 million) and Warner Bros. Discovery's David Zaslav ($49.7 million) is ninth.

Permalink to story:

CEO pay hits record highs: Meet the top earners

 

[VitalyT]

Is this article supposed to irritate its readers, amid catastrophic job cuts?

Techspot is not Forbes, for f.sake!

 

[GodisanAtheist]

So how do I swing a CEO gig again?

I can screw up these companies twice as fast for half of what they're paying these guys

 

[ScottSoapbox]

Becoming a hot Hollywood actor is actually a more likely way to tens of millions in pay than a F500 CEO (statistically speaking).

Yet, no one bemoans their pay.

 

[n3o127]

Building Back Better success story - top earners see (massive per above) increased earnings. I wonder if all staff members at these companies have seen the same (percent) increase in earnings -- I know some at nVidia have in fact seen a bump, however here in west we like to say (often times) many don't really play a role in the results to which I always think, why hire the other staff members then (after all few workers like the idea of cleaning their own bathroom and making sure TP is there, lol). Personally, just my opinion, we seem obsessed with paying wild amounts of money to people, then, all side rewards and benefits on top of that.

 

[dirtyferret]

Becoming a hot Hollywood actor is actually a more likely way to tens of millions in pay than a F500 CEO (statistically speaking).

Yet, no one bemoans their pay.

Well when you cast Margot Robbie & Ryan Gosling in a movie and it makes 1.6 billion than their pay was worth it. Not too sure you make as much money with Rob Schneider and Lindsay Lohan in the lead roles.

 

[yRaz]

I'm happy CEOs are making so much money, when will ketchup go back under $5 a bottle?

I can't wait for the market to crash because these CEOs are the reason my savings account is shrinking. My financial obligations have gone up 300% while I only make 5% more than I did last year. Wait, if you believe the FED's inflation 6% inflation number, which I don't, I actually make 1% less than I did last year.

*claps in corporate at CEOs making so much money*

 

[WhoCaresAnymore]

Tim Cook. All IOS updates have to have some sort of LBG**** crap posted for release notes. Tired of this thrown in our faces. Just call it the iPride phone and get it over with.

 

[NumberNine]

Looks like the mass layoffs are working.

 

[VaRmeNsI]

when will ketchup go back under $5 a bottle?

When money printer stops going brrrr

 

[Endymio]

I'm happy CEOs are making so much money, when will ketchup go back under $5 a bottle?

I can't wait for the market to crash because these CEOs are the reason my savings account is shrinking.

Eh? CEOs aren't causing inflation, bad government policies are. When you quintiple the money supply in four short years, you have five times as many dollars chasing the same products -- inflation is inevitable. As Nobel-Prize winning economist Milton Friedman says, "inflation is, always and everywhere, a monetary phenomenon."

Take a look at Argentina's President Milei, who just six months after being elected managed to cut inflation from 25% down to 8%, through instituting a raft of austerity measures.

 

[yRaz]

Eh? CEOs aren't causing inflation, bad government policies are. When you quintiple the money supply in four short years, you have five times as many dollars chasing the same products -- inflation is inevitable. As Nobel-Prize winning economist Milton Friedman says, "inflation is, always and everywhere, a monetary phenomenon."

Take a look at Argentina's President Milei, who just six months after being elected managed to cut inflation from 25% down to 8%, through instituting a raft of austerity measures.

Well, actually, inflation isn't inevitable. For some reason the world basically switched to fiat currency and fractional reserve banking. But I can see you've drank the forbidden kool-aid and now feel bad for those billionaire CEOs.

 

[Uncle Al]

Having been in business for 50+ years I can honestly say I have yet to see the top executive worth more than $1 million a year and bonus's no more than 50% of their pay. Any board of directors that votes for higher needs to be dissolved and replaced with more common sense people.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

Well when you cast Margot Robbie & Ryan Gosling in a movie and it makes 1.6 billion than their pay was worth it. Not too sure you make as much money with Rob Schneider and Lindsay Lohan in the lead roles.

Now apply that logic to CEOs and you will have understood my point.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

Well, actually, inflation isn't inevitable. For some reason the world basically switched to fiat currency and fractional reserve banking. But I can see you've drank the forbidden kool-aid and now feel bad for those billionaire CEOs.

He didn't say inflation was inevitable. He pointed out the cause of it: the increased money supply.
He didn't feel bad for CEOs. He pointed out that the government, not CEOs, increased the money supply.

The world switched to fiat currency and fractional reserve banking because it allows politicians/governments to spend more without increasing taxes. Higher taxes are unpopular with many voters, while few voters understand the connection to inflation (that is often called a hidden tax). Inflation also helps the wealthy so that no doubt contributed as well.

 

[yRaz]

The world switched to fiat currency and fractional reserve banking because it allows politicians/governments to spend more without increasing taxes. Higher taxes are unpopular with many voters, while few voters understand the connection to inflation (that is often called a hidden tax). Inflation also helps the wealthy so that no doubt contributed as well.

How insightful, I had no idea.

 

[n3o127]

Having been in business for 50+ years I can honestly say I have yet to see the top executive worth more than $1 million a year and bonus's no more than 50% of their pay. Any board of directors that votes for higher needs to be dissolved and replaced with more common sense people.

I share (2/3 years lol) your experience, and agree -- its brave to say, and to admit in this World today, but it shouldn't be. It's fine we all don't agree, and that common sense though, there's the important part. That being said, there are plenty of mid-level and entry level staff that under value themselves and overinflate or overvalue the high-level chiefs above them -- combine that with board members driven for profits (at nearly any costs), and they become willing to pay a lot for a yes person to them.

 

[Endymio]

Having been in business for 50+ years I can honestly say I have yet to see the top executive worth more than $1 million a year and bonus's no more than 50% of their pay. Any board of directors that votes for higher needs to be dissolved and replaced with more common sense people.

Why then, for all such companies you own a majority share in, by all means -- dissolve the board and replace them with "more common sense people".

Or just perhaps you could put aside your sour-grapes attitude and realize that CEO pay is, in most cases, an infinitesimal fraction of the companies overall revenue, whereas a good CEO is usually worth ten or even 100 times what they're actually paid.

 

[Dimitrios]

Well when you cast Margot Robbie & Ryan Gosling in a movie and it makes 1.6 billion than their pay was worth it. Not too sure you make as much money with Rob Schneider and Lindsay Lohan in the lead roles.

I know this is random, but years back I used to criticize the majority of Hollywood stars like Rob Schneider but believe it or not Rob Schneider is one of the most interesting intelligent people in Hollywood. He was on few news shows the last few years and when it comes to politics and being a good person it really shocked me.

 

[lonetac]

He didn't say inflation was inevitable. He pointed out the cause of it: the increased money supply.
He didn't feel bad for CEOs. He pointed out that the government, not CEOs, increased the money supply.

The world switched to fiat currency and fractional reserve banking because it allows politicians/governments to spend more without increasing taxes. Higher taxes are unpopular with many voters, while few voters understand the connection to inflation (that is often called a hidden tax). Inflation also helps the wealthy so that no doubt contributed as well.

Inflation is actually good for an economy, you want inflation. But wages are supposed to rise faster than inflation, thats the issue we are experiencing.

There is nuance but inflation isnt inheritanly bad, you want some.

 

[Endymio]

Inflation is actually good for an economy, you want inflation.

No, inflation is not 'good' for an economy. Even ignoring the "hidden tax", the erosion of buying power, and other obvious effects of inflation, there are these facts:

-- Inflation distorts prices, which makes rational purchasing decisions more difficult. When inflation is rapid, long-term planning is essentially impossible -- which explains why the real GDP of a nation experiencing hyperinflation always sinks rapidly, even as nominal GDP rises.
-- Inflation raises interest rates, which makes venture capital and investment in new, rapidly growing businesses and ventures far more expensive. This means capital tends to flow away from these, depressing economic growth.

There is a certain school of thought that these negative effects are worth it, as a small, predictable amount of inflation forces people to invest, and wards off deflation. (Which is why the Fed's target rate is 2%). While not every economist agrees with this theory, the one thing they do agree is that high inflation is always bad.