Already making hundreds of times what most Americans earn in a year, CEOs at top U.S. corporations received a pay raise in 2016. The average executive officer at one of the nation’s 100 largest public companies brought in $16.6 million last year compared to $15.5 million in 2015.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed total compensation packages for CEOs at the 100 largest public U.S. companies by revenue from executive-level data collector Equilar. Charter Communications CEO Thomas Rutledge tops the list, with total annual compensation of $98.0 million. This includes $78 million in stock option grants.
Meanwhile Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett remains the lowest paid of the group, with annual compensation of $487,881. Buffett is the only CEO listed with annual compensation under $3 million.
Click here to see the what CEOs are paid at the nation’s 100 largest public companies.
CEOs at large U.S. corporations make decisions that can make or lose a company millions of dollars. Even when changes in a company’s fortunes are not attributed to decisions of the CEO, the CEO is often still held responsible. These high stakes are often used to justify the massive pay packages. And CEOs are watched very closely by shareholders.
Executive compensation does not always track with performance, however. The share price of more than a quarter of the 100 companies on this list declined in 2016. Some of the top performing companies — such as truck manufacturer Paccar whose shares climbed 34.8% in 2016 and electronics design firm Arrow Electronics whose shares jumped 31.6% in 2016 — pay their CEOs relatively little compared with other large U.S. public companies.
Similarly, CEOs at companies with the largest revenues do not necessarily have the largest pay packages. Most notably, the lowest paid CEO, Warren Buffett, is CEO of the largest company on this list. With annual revenue of $223.6 billion, Berkshire Hathaway overtook Apple as the largest company.
To identify the highest and lowest paid CEOs at America’s largest companies, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed total compensation packages for CEOs at the 100 largest public U.S. companies by revenue that filed proxy statements covering 2016 before April 1 from executive-level data collector Equilar. Because Oracle has two CEOs, there are 101 executives listed.
Total compensation is defined as salary, bonus, stock and options valued at grant date, and other compensation as disclosed in the summary compensation table of company proxy statements. This figure excludes pension and deferred compensation values. Annual revenue figures are for fiscal 2016 or the latest available fiscal year and come from financial reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Share price changes in 2016 (December 31, 2015 – December 30, 2016) were obtained from Google finance.
These are the highest and lowest paid CEOs at America’s top 100 companies.
Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortunelivemedia/
1. Warren E. Buffett
> Company: Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA)
> Total compensation: $487,881
> Revenue: $223.6 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +23.4%
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Source: http://abcnews.go.com/
2. Edward S. Lampert
> Company: Sears Holdings (SHLD)
> Total compensation: $3.5 million
> Revenue: $22.1 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -54.8%
Source: Courtesy of US Foods Holding
3. Pietro Satriano
> Company: US Foods Holding (USFD)
> Total compensation: $4.8 million
> Revenue: $22.9 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +10.3%
Source: kellogg.northwestern.edu
4. Bernardo Hees
> Company: Kraft Heinz (KHC)
> Total compensation: $5.3 million
> Revenue: $26.5 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +20.0%
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Source: daf.com
5. Ronald E. Armstrong
> Company: Paccar (PCAR)
> Total compensation: $5.3 million
> Revenue: $17.0 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +34.8%
Source: tumblr.com
6. W. Craig Jelinek
> Company: Costco Wholesale (COST)
> Total compensation: $6.4 million
> Revenue: $118.7 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -0.9%
Source: Ted Van Pelt / Wikimedia Commons
7. Roger Penske
> Company: Penske Automotive Group (PAG)
> Total compensation: $6.5 million
> Revenue: $20.1 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +22.4%
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Source: progressive.com
8. Susan P. Griffith
> Company: Progressive (PGR)
> Total compensation: $6.9 million
> Revenue: $23.4 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +11.6%
Source: LinkedIn
9. Richard P. Hamada
> Company: Avnet (AVT)
> Total compensation: $6.9 million
> Revenue: $26.2 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +11.1%
Source: corporate.kohls.com
10. Kevin Mansell
> Company: Kohls (KSS)
> Total compensation: $8.4 million
> Revenue: $18.7 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +3.7%
Source: Courtesy of Arrow Electronics
11. Michael J. Long
> Company: Arrow Electronics (ARW)
> Total compensation: $8.4 million
> Revenue: $23.8 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +31.6%
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Source: World Economic Forum / Flickr
12. David T. Seaton
> Company: Fluor (FLR)
> Total compensation: $8.7 million
> Revenue: $19.0 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +11.2%
Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/iphonedigital/
13. Tim Cook
> Company: Apple (AAPL)
> Total compensation: $8.7 million
> Revenue: $215.6 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +10.0%
Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/scobleizer/
14. Kendall J. Powell
> Company: General Mills (GIS)
> Total compensation: $8.9 million
> Revenue: $16.6 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +7.1%
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Source: http://newscenter.nmsu.edu/
15. Dr. J. Mario Molina
> Company: Molina Healthcare (MOH)
> Total compensation: $9.9 million
> Revenue: $17.8 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -9.8%
Source: up.com
16. Lance M. Fritz
> Company: Union Pacific (UNP)
> Total compensation: $10.0 million
> Revenue: $19.9 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +32.6%
Source: Courtesy of AmerisourceBergen
17. Steven H. Collis
> Company: AmerisourceBergen (ABC)
> Total compensation: $10.0 million
> Revenue: $146.9 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -24.6%
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Source: Wikimedia Commons
18. Stefano Pessina
> Company: Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA)
> Total compensation: $10.1 million
> Revenue: $117.4 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -2.8%
Source: tenethealth.com
19. Trevor Fetter
> Company: Tenet Healthcare (THC)
> Total compensation: $10.1 million
> Revenue: $19.6 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -51.0%
Source: YouTube
20. Norman T. Linebarger
> Company: Cummins (CMI)
> Total compensation: $10.2 million
> Revenue: $17.5 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +55.3%
Source: YouTube
21. Donnie Smith
> Company: Tyson Foods (TSN)
> Total compensation: $10.2 million
> Revenue: $36.9 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +15.7%
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Source: delphi.com
22. Kevin P. Clark
> Company: Delphi Automotive (DLPH)
> Total compensation: $10.4 million
> Revenue: $16.7 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -21.4%
Source: jabil.com
23. Mark T. Mondello
> Company: Jabil Circuit (JBL)
> Total compensation: $10.5 million
> Revenue: $18.4 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +1.6%
Source: manpowergroup.com
24. Jonas Prising
> Company: ManpowerGroup (MAN)
> Total compensation: $11.0 million
> Revenue: $19.7 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +5.4%
Source: qualcomm.com
25. Steve Mollenkopf
> Company: Qualcomm (QCOM)
> Total compensation: $11.1 million
> Revenue: $23.6 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +30.4%
Source: AutoNation Inc Mike Jackson Chairman of the Board / Wikimedia Commons
26. Mike Jackson
> Company: AutoNation (AN)
> Total compensation: $11.1 million
> Revenue: $21.6 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -18.5%
Source: http://investor.travelers.com/
27. Alan D. Schnitzer
> Company: Travelers Companies (TRV)
> Total compensation: $11.3 million
> Revenue: $27.6 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +8.5%
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Source: eaton.com
28. Craig Arnold
> Company: Eaton (ETN)
> Total compensation: $11.7 million
> Revenue: $19.7 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +28.9%
Source: pressroom.ups.com
29. David P. Abney
> Company: United Parcel Service (UPS)
> Total compensation: $11.7 million
> Revenue: $60.9 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +19.1%
Source: hcatodayblog.com
30. R. Milton Johnson
> Company: HCA Holdings (HCA)
> Total compensation: $11.8 million
> Revenue: $41.5 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +9.4%
Source: Jviper6000 / Wikimedia Commons
31. Terry J. Lundgren
> Company: Macy’s (M)
> Total compensation: $12.1 million
> Revenue: $25.8 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +2.4%
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Source: Courtesy of Humana
32. Bruce D. Broussard
> Company: Humana (HUM)
> Total compensation: $12.2 million
> Revenue: $54.4 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +14.3%
Source: wellsfargo.com
33. Timothy J. Sloan
> Company: Wells Fargo (WFC)
> Total compensation: $12.8 million
> Revenue: $84.5 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +1.4%
Source: danaher.com
34. Thomas P. Joyce
> Company: Danaher (DHR)
> Total compensation: $13.0 million
> Revenue: $16.9 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -16.2%
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Source: Wikimedia Commons
35. William J. Delaney
> Company: Sysco (SYY)
> Total compensation: $13.0 million
> Revenue: $50.4 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +35.0%
Source: usbank.com
36. Richard K. Davis
> Company: U.S. Bancorp (USB)
> Total compensation: $13.0 million
> Revenue: $19.4 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +20.4%
Source: citigroup.com
37. Michael L. Corbat
> Company: Citigroup (C)
> Total compensation: $13.4 million
> Revenue: $63.1 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +14.8%
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Source: Courtesy of Exelon
38. Christopher M. Crane
> Company: Exelon (EXC)
> Total compensation: $13.4 million
> Revenue: $31.4 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +27.8%
Source: utc.com
39. Gregory J. Hayes
> Company: United Technologies (UTX)
> Total compensation: $13.4 million
> Revenue: $57.2 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +14.1%
Source: duke-energy.com
40. Lynn J. Good
> Company: Duke Energy (DUK)
> Total compensation: $13.5 million
> Revenue: $22.7 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +8.7%
Source: tsocorp.com
41. Gregory J. Goff
> Company: Tesoro (TSO)
> Total compensation: $13.5 million
> Revenue: $24.6 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -17.0%
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Source: cardinalhealth.com
42. George S. Barrett
> Company: Cardinal Health (CAH)
> Total compensation: $13.7 million
> Revenue: $121.5 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -19.4%
Source: kimberly-clark.com
43. Thomas J. Falk
> Company: Kimberly-Clark (KMB)
> Total compensation: $13.8 million
> Revenue: $18.2 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -10.4%
Source: whirlpoolcorp.com
44. Jeff M. Fettig
> Company: Whirlpool (WHR)
> Total compensation: $13.9 million
> Revenue: $20.7 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +23.8%
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Source: gilead.com
45. John F. Milligan
> Company: Gilead Sciences (GILD)
> Total compensation: $13.9 million
> Revenue: $30.4 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -29.2%
Source: adm.com
46. Juan R. Luciano
> Company: Archer Daniels Midland (ADM)
> Total compensation: $14.0 million
> Revenue: $62.3 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +24.5%
Source: boeing.com
47. Dennis A. Muilenburg
> Company: Boeing (BA)
> Total compensation: $14.1 million
> Revenue: $94.6 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +7.7%
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Source: http://news.pg.com/
48. David S. Taylor
> Company: Procter & Gamble (PG)
> Total compensation: $14.4 million
> Revenue: $65.3 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +5.9%
Source: lear.com
49. Matthew J. Simoncini
> Company: Lear (LEA)
> Total compensation: $14.4 million
> Revenue: $18.6 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +7.8%
Source: Courtesy of Express Scripts Holding
50. Timothy Wentworth
> Company: Express Scripts Holding (ESRX)
> Total compensation: $14.5 million
> Revenue: $100.3 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -21.3%
Source: Wikimedia Commons
51. Michael S. Burke
> Company: AECOM (ACM)
> Total compensation: $15.1 million
> Revenue: $17.4 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +21.1%
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Source: Courtesy of Valero
52. Joseph W. Gorder
> Company: Valero Energy (VLO)
> Total compensation: $15.1 million
> Revenue: $75.7 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -3.4%
Source: cigna.com
53. David M. Cordani
> Company: Cigna (CI)
> Total compensation: $15.2 million
> Revenue: $39.7 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -8.8%
Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/124024145@N04/
54. John C. Lechleiter
> Company: Eli Lilly (LLY)
> Total compensation: $15.2 million
> Revenue: $21.2 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -12.7%
Source: 3m.com
55. Inge G. Thulin
> Company: 3M (MMM)
> Total compensation: $15.4 million
> Revenue: $30.1 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +18.5%
Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/financialtimes/
56. Brian T. Moynihan
> Company: Bank Of America (BAC)
> Total compensation: $15.4 million
> Revenue: $80.1 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +31.3%
Source: marathonpetroleum.com
57. Gary R. Heminger
> Company: Marathon Petroleum (MPC)
> Total compensation: $15.5 million
> Revenue: $63.4 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -2.9%
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Source: whirlpoolcorp.com
58. Samuel R. Allen
> Company: Deere (DE)
> Total compensation: $15.6 million
> Revenue: $26.6 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +35.1%
Source: World Economic Forum / Wikimedia Commons
59. Irene B. Rosenfeld
> Company: Mondelez International (MDLZ)
> Total compensation: $15.8 million
> Revenue: $25.9 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -1.1%
Source: YouTube
60. Muhtar Kent
> Company: Coca-Cola (KO)
> Total compensation: $16.0 million
> Revenue: $41.9 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -3.5%
Source: Courtesy of Cisco Systems
61. Charles H. Robbins
> Company: Cisco Systems (CSCO)
> Total compensation: $16.0 million
> Revenue: $49.2 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +11.3%
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Source: pmi.com
62. Andre Calantzopoulos
> Company: Philip Morris International (PM)
> Total compensation: $16.3 million
> Revenue: $75.0 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +4.1%
Source: abbott.com
63. Miles D. White
> Company: Abbott Laboratories (ABT)
> Total compensation: $16.4 million
> Revenue: $20.9 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -14.5%
Source: antheminc.com
64. Joseph R. Swedish
> Company: Anthem (ANTM)
> Total compensation: $16.5 million
> Revenue: $84.9 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +3.1%
Source: fedex.com
65. Frederick W. Smith
> Company: FedEx (FDX)
> Total compensation: $16.8 million
> Revenue: $50.4 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +25.0%
Source: northropgrumman.com
66. Wesley G. Bush
> Company: Northrop Grumman (NOC)
> Total compensation: $16.8 million
> Revenue: $24.5 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +23.2%
Source: Wikimedia Commons
67. Paal Kibsgaard
> Company: Schlumberger (SLB)
> Total compensation: $16.8 million
> Revenue: $27.8 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +20.4%
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Source: press.capitalone.com
68. Richard D. Fairbank
> Company: Capital One Financial (COF)
> Total compensation: $16.9 million
> Revenue: $19.0 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +20.9%
Source: news.bms.com
69. Giovanni Caforio
> Company: Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY)
> Total compensation: $16.9 million
> Revenue: $19.4 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -15.0%
Source: Wikimedia Commons
70. Kenneth I. Chenault
> Company: American Express (AXP)
> Total compensation: $16.9 million
> Revenue: $29.9 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +6.5%
Source: pfizer.com
71. Ian C. Read
> Company: Pfizer (PFE)
> Total compensation: $17.0 million
> Revenue: $52.8 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +0.6%
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Source: investor.phillips66.com
72. Greg C. Garland
> Company: Phillips 66 (PSX)
> Total compensation: $17.2 million
> Revenue: $85.8 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +5.6%
Source: verizon.com
73. Lowell C. McAdam
> Company: Verizon Communications (VZ)
> Total compensation: $17.4 million
> Revenue: $126.0 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +15.5%
Source: news.prudential.com
74. John R. Strangfeld
> Company: Prudential Financial (PRU)
> Total compensation: $17.6 million
> Revenue: $58.8 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +27.8%
Source: honeywell.com
75. David M. Cote
> Company: Honeywell International (HON)
> Total compensation: $17.6 million
> Revenue: $39.3 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +11.9%
Source: OFFICIAL LEWEB PHOTOS / Wikimedia Commons
76. Satya Nadella
> Company: Microsoft (MSFT)
> Total compensation: $17.7 million
> Revenue: $85.3 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +12.0%
Source: vbprofiles.com
77. Richard A. Gonzalez
> Company: AbbVie (ABBV)
> Total compensation: $17.7 million
> Revenue: $25.6 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +5.7%
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Source: ge.com
78. Jeffrey R. Immelt
> Company: General Electric (GE)
> Total compensation: $17.7 million
> Revenue: $123.7 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +1.4%
Source: cvshealth.com
79. Larry J. Merlo
> Company: CVS Health (CVS)
> Total compensation: $18.4 million
> Revenue: $177.5 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -19.3%
Source: accenture.com
80. Pierre Nanterme
> Company: Accenture (ACN)
> Total compensation: $18.5 million
> Revenue: $34.8 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +12.1%
Source: media.ford.com
81. Mark Fields
> Company: Ford Motor (F)
> Total compensation: $19.3 million
> Revenue: $151.8 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -13.9%
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Source: dow.com
82. Andrew Liveris
> Company: Dow Chemical (DOW)
> Total compensation: $19.4 million
> Revenue: $48.2 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +11.1%
Source: lockheedmartin.com
83. Marillyn A. Hewson
> Company: Lockheed Martin (LMT)
> Total compensation: $19.4 million
> Revenue: $47.2 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +15.1%
Source: Financial Times photos / Wikimedia Commons
84. Lloyd C. Blankfein
> Company: Goldman Sachs Group (GS)
> Total compensation: $20.2 million
> Revenue: $30.6 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +32.9%
Source: investors.aflac.com
85. Daniel P. Amos
> Company: Aflac (AFL)
> Total compensation: $20.4 million
> Revenue: $22.6 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +16.2%
Source: NRKbeta / Wikimedia Commons
86. James R. Murdoch
> Company: Twenty-First Century Fox (FOXA)
> Total compensation: $20.8 million
> Revenue: $27.3 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +3.2%
Source: pinterest.com
87. Phebe N. Novakovic
> Company: General Dynamics (GD)
> Total compensation: $21.2 million
> Revenue: $31.4 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +25.7%
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Source: jnj.com
88. Alex Gorsky
> Company: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
> Total compensation: $21.2 million
> Revenue: $71.9 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +12.2%
Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sillygwailo/
89. Howard Schultz
> Company: Starbucks (SBUX)
> Total compensation: $21.8 million
> Revenue: $21.3 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -7.5%
Source: Centene
90. Michael F. Neidorff
> Company: Centene (CNC)
> Total compensation: $22.0 million
> Revenue: $40.6 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -14.1%
Source: Robert Scoble / Wikimedia Commons
91. Randall L. Stephenson
> Company: AT&T (T)
> Total compensation: $25.0 million
> Revenue: $163.8 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +23.6%
Source: World Economic Forum / Wikimedia Commons
92. Indra K. Nooyi
> Company: Pepsico (PEP)
> Total compensation: $25.2 million
> Revenue: $62.8 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +4.7%
Source: www8.hp.com
93. Dion J. Weisler
> Company: HP (HPQ)
> Total compensation: $28.2 million
> Revenue: $48.2 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +25.3%
Source: Asa Mathat / Fortune Live Media / Wikimedia Commons
94. Virginia M. Rometty
> Company: International Business Machines (IBM)
> Total compensation: $32.3 million
> Revenue: $79.9 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +20.6%
Source: Anna C Timms, on behalf of Johnson Controls / Wikimedia Commons
95. Alex A. Molinaroli
> Company: Johnson Controls International (JCI)
> Total compensation: $32.6 million
> Revenue: $37.7 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +23.4%
Source: Max Morse / Wikimedia Commons
96. Margaret C. Whitman
> Company: Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
> Total compensation: $32.9 million
> Revenue: $50.1 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +52.2%
Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/oracle_images/
97. Safra A. Catz
> Company: Oracle (ORCL)
> Total compensation: $40.9 million
> Revenue: $37.0 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +5.3%
Source: Angela George / Wikimedia Commons
98. Robert A. Iger
> Company: Walt Disney (DIS)
> Total compensation: $41.0 million
> Revenue: $55.6 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -0.8%
Source: Oracle PR from Redwood Shores, Calif., USA / Wikimedia Commons
99. Mark V. Hurd
> Company: Oracle (ORCL)
> Total compensation: $41.1 million
> Revenue: $37.0 billion
> 2016 share price chg. +5.3%
Source: about.nike.com
100. Mark G. Parker
> Company: Nike (NKE)
> Total compensation: $47.6 million
> Revenue: $32.4 billion
> 2016 share price chg. -18.7%
Source: newsroom.charter.com
101. Thomas M. Rutledge
> Company: Charter Communications (CHTR)
> Total compensation: $98.0 million
> Revenue: $29.0 billion
> 2016 share price chg. N/A
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