[cnxvideo id=”625456″ placement=”ros”]Chief executive officers are the highest-ranking — and often highest-profile — employees of any company or organization. They are also often the highest paid. According to a study by the AFL-CIO, a typical CEO of a S&P 500 company earned 347 times as much as the typical employee in a non-supervisory role in 2016.
Whether or not such a pay gap is justified is a matter for debate. However, the pressures that come with the top-job at any major American company are undeniable. CEOs of publicly traded companies are accountable to customers, regulators, shareholders, board members, and their own employees — in both good times and bad.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed CEO compensation packages for the 100 largest, publicly traded American companies by revenue. With only a couple of exceptions, CEOs of the largest companies report compensation packages of at least seven figures, the vast majority of whom earn eight-figures annually.
Click here to see the highest paid CEOs in America
Click here to see our findings and methodology
101. Larry Page
> Company: Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL)
> Total compensation: $1
> Revenue: $90.3 billion
> Number of employees: 72,053
> Profit: $19.5 billion
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100. Warren E. Buffett
> Company: Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A)
> Total compensation: $100,000
> Revenue: $223.6 billion
> Number of employees: 367,700
> Profit: $24.1 billion
99. Jeffrey P. Bezos
> Company: Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN)
> Total compensation: $1.7 million
> Revenue: $136.0 billion
> Number of employees: 341,400
> Profit: $2.4 billion
98. Jay D. Debertin
> Company: CHS (NASDAQ: CHSCM)
> Total compensation: $2.0 million
> Revenue: $30.3 billion
> Number of employees: 12,157
> Profit: $424.2 million
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97. Gail K. Boudreaux
> Company: Anthem (NYSE: ANTM)
> Total compensation: $2.2 million
> Revenue: $84.9 billion
> Number of employees: 53,000
> Profit: $2.5 billion
96. Michael S. Dell
> Company: Dell Technologies (NYSE: DVMT)
> Total compensation: $3.3 million
> Revenue: $64.8 billion
> Number of employees: 138,000
> Profit: -$1.7 billion
95. Bernardo Hees
> Company: Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ: KHC)
> Total compensation: $4.2 million
> Revenue: $26.5 billion
> Number of employees: 41,000
> Profit: $3.6 billion
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94. Michael J. Kasbar
> Company: World Fuel Services (NYSE: INT)
> Total compensation: $4.6 million
> Revenue: $27.0 billion
> Number of employees: 5,000
> Profit: $126.5 million
93. Mark Zuckerberg
> Company: Facebook (NASDAQ: FB)
> Total compensation: $5.8 million
> Revenue: $27.6 billion
> Number of employees: 17,048
> Profit: $10.2 billion
92. John Flannery
> Company: General Electric (NYSE: GE)
> Total compensation: $5.8 million
> Revenue: $126.7 billion
> Number of employees: 295,000
> Profit: $8.8 billion
91. Robert M. Dutkowsky
> Company: Tech Data (NASDAQ: TECD)
> Total compensation: $5.9 million
> Revenue: $26.2 billion
> Number of employees: 9,500
> Profit: $195.1 million
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90. Walter Craig Jelinek
> Company: Costco (NASDAQ: COST)
> Total compensation: $6.6 million
> Revenue: $118.7 billion
> Number of employees: 172,000
> Profit: $2.4 billion
89. John R. Strangfeld
> Company: Prudential Financial (NYSE: PRU)
> Total compensation: $7.7 million
> Revenue: $58.8 billion
> Number of employees: 49,739
> Profit: $4.4 billion OR $4368.0 million
88. Thomas M. Rutledge
> Company: Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR)
> Total compensation: $7.8 million
> Revenue: $29.0 billion
> Number of employees: 91,500
> Profit: $3.5 billion
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87. John T. Standley
> Company: Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD)
> Total compensation: $8.1 million
> Revenue: $30.7 billion
> Number of employees: 70,580
> Profit: $165.5 million
86. Tim Cook
> Company: Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)
> Total compensation: $8.7 million
> Revenue: $215.6 billion
> Number of employees: 116,000
> Profit: $45.7 billion
85. Tom Hayes
> Company: Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN)
> Total compensation: $8.9 million
> Revenue: $36.9 billion
> Number of employees: 114,000
> Profit: $1.8 billion
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84. William Amelio
> Company: Avnet (NYSE: AVT)
> Total compensation: $9.3 million
> Revenue: $26.2 billion
> Number of employees: 17,700
> Profit: $506.5 million
83. Steven H. Collis
> Company: AmerisourceBergen (NYSE: ABC)
> Total compensation: $9.9 million
> Revenue: $146.8 billion
> Number of employees: 18,500
> Profit: $1.4 billion
82. James Quincey
> Company: Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO)
> Total compensation: $10.2 million
> Revenue: $41.9 billion
> Number of employees: 100,300
> Profit: $6.5 billion
81. George S. Barrett
> Company: Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH)
> Total compensation: $11.0 million
> Revenue: $121.5 billion
> Number of employees: 37,300
> Profit: $1.4 billion
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80. William Douglas Parker
> Company: American Airlines Group (NASDAQ: AAL)
> Total compensation: $11.1 million
> Revenue: $40.2 billion
> Number of employees: 122,300
> Profit: $2.7 billion
79. Brian C. Cornell
> Company: Target (NYSE: TGT)
> Total compensation: $11.3 million
> Revenue: $69.5 billion
> Number of employees: 323,000
> Profit: $2.7 billion
78. Alan D. Schnitzer
> Company: Travelers Cos. (NYSE: TRV)
> Total compensation: $11.6 million
> Revenue: $27.6 billion
> Number of employees: 30,900
> Profit: $3.0 billion
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77. Craig A. Menear
> Company: Home Depot (NYSE: HD)
> Total compensation: $11.6 million
> Revenue: $94.6 billion
> Number of employees: 406,000
> Profit: $8.0 billion
76. Edward H. Bastian
> Company: Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL)
> Total compensation: $12.6 million
> Revenue: $39.6 billion
> Number of employees: 83,756
> Profit: $4.4 billion
75. Robert A. Niblock
> Company: Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW)
> Total compensation: $12.7 million
> Revenue: $65.0 billion
> Number of employees: 240,000
> Profit: $3.1 billion
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74. William Rodney McMullen
> Company: Kroger (NYSE: KR)
> Total compensation: $13.2 million
> Revenue: $115.3 billion
> Number of employees: 443,000
> Profit: $2.0 billion
73. Terry J. Lundgren
> Company: Macy’s (NYSE: M)
> Total compensation: $13.5 million
> Revenue: $25.8 billion
> Number of employees: 148,300
> Profit: $619.0 million
72. Edward D. Breen
> Company: DowDuPont Inc. (NYSE: DWDP)
> Total compensation: $13.8 million
> Revenue: $62.5 billion
> Number of employees: 98,000
> Profit: $1.5 billion
71. Mark G. Parker
> Company: Nike (NYSE: NKE)
> Total compensation: $13.9 million
> Revenue: $32.4 billion
> Number of employees: 70,700
> Profit: $3.8 billion
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70. Hubert Joly
> Company: Best Buy (NYSE: BBY)
> Total compensation: $14.0 million
> Revenue: $39.4 billion
> Number of employees: 125,000
> Profit: $1.2 billion
69. David P. Abney
> Company: UPS (NYSE: UPS)
> Total compensation: $14.6 million
> Revenue: $60.9 billion
> Number of employees: 335,520
> Profit: $3.4 billion
68. Stefano Pessina
> Company: Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ: WBA)
> Total compensation: $14.7 million
> Revenue: $117.4 billion
> Number of employees: 300,000
> Profit: $4.2 billion
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67. Dion J. Weisler
> Company: HP (NYSE: HPQ)
> Total compensation: $14.7 million
> Revenue: $48.2 billion
> Number of employees: 49,000
> Profit: $2.5 billion
66. Christopher M. Crane
> Company: Exelon (NYSE: EXC)
> Total compensation: $14.9 million
> Revenue: $31.4 billion
> Number of employees: 34,396
> Profit: $1.1 billion
65. William J. DeLaney
> Company: Sysco (NYSE: SYY)
> Total compensation: $15.1 million
> Revenue: $50.4 billion
> Number of employees: 51,900
> Profit: $949.6 million
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64. Steven A. Kandarian
> Company: MetLife (NYSE: MET)
> Total compensation: $15.3 million
> Revenue: $63.5 billion
> Number of employees: 58,000
> Profit: $800.0 million
63. Stephen Easterbrook
> Company: McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD)
> Total compensation: $15.4 million
> Revenue: $24.6 billion
> Number of employees: 375,000
> Profit: $4.7 billion
62. John F. Milligan
> Company: Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD)
> Total compensation: $15.4 million
> Revenue: $30.4 billion
> Number of employees: 9,000
> Profit: $13.5 billion
61. Douglas R. Oberhelman
> Company: Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT)
> Total compensation: $15.5 million
> Revenue: $38.5 billion
> Number of employees: 95,400
> Profit: -$67.0 million
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60. Frederick W. Smith
> Company: FedEx (NYSE: FDX)
> Total compensation: $15.6 million
> Revenue: $50.4 billion
> Number of employees: 335,767
> Profit: $1.8 billion
59. Juan R. Luciano
> Company: Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM)
> Total compensation: $15.9 million
> Revenue: $62.3 billion
> Number of employees: 31,800
> Profit: $1.3 billion
58. Timothy Wentworth
> Company: Express Scripts Holding (NASDAQ: ESRX)
> Total compensation: $15.9 million
> Revenue: $100.3 billion
> Number of employees: 25,600
> Profit: $3.4 billion
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57. Samuel R. Allen
> Company: Deere (NYSE: DE)
> Total compensation: $16.1 million
> Revenue: $26.6 billion
> Number of employees: 56,767
> Profit: $1.5 billion
56. Richard D. Fairbank
> Company: Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF)
> Total compensation: $16.2 million
> Revenue: $27.5 billion
> Number of employees: 47,300
> Profit: $3.8 billion
55. Darius Adamczyk
> Company: Honeywell International (NYSE: HON)
> Total compensation: $16.5 million
> Revenue: $39.3 billion
> Number of employees: 131,000
> Profit: $4.8 billion
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54. James P. Hackett
> Company: Ford Motor (NYSE: F)
> Total compensation: $16.7 million
> Revenue: $151.8 billion
> Number of employees: 201,000
> Profit: $4.6 billion
53. Charles H. Robbins
> Company: Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO)
> Total compensation: $16.7 million
> Revenue: $49.2 billion
> Number of employees: 73,700
> Profit: $10.7 billion
52. Gregory J. Hayes
> Company: United Technologies (NYSE: UTX)
> Total compensation: $17.0 million
> Revenue: $57.2 billion
> Number of employees: 201,600
> Profit: $5.1 billion
51. Margaret C. Whitman
> Company: Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE)
> Total compensation: $17.1 million
> Revenue: $50.1 billion
> Number of employees: 195,000
> Profit: $3.2 billion
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50. R. Milton Johnson
> Company: HCA Holdings (NYSE: HCA)
> Total compensation: $17.3 million
> Revenue: $44.7 billion
> Number of employees: 210,500
> Profit: $2.9 billion
49. Timothy J. Sloan
> Company: Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC)
> Total compensation: $17.6 million
> Revenue: $94.2 billion
> Number of employees: 269,100
> Profit: $21.9 billion
48. David M. Cordani
> Company: Cigna (NYSE: CI)
> Total compensation: $17.6 million
> Revenue: $39.7 billion
> Number of employees: 41,000
> Profit: $1.9 billion
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47. Stephen J. Hemsley
> Company: UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH)
> Total compensation: $17.8 million
> Revenue: $184.8 billion
> Number of employees: 230,000
> Profit: $7.0 billion
46. Michael Corbat
> Company: Citigroup (NYSE: C)
> Total compensation: $17.8 million
> Revenue: $82.4 billion
> Number of employees: 219,000
> Profit: $14.9 billion
45. Lowell McAdam
> Company: Verizon (NYSE: VZ)
> Total compensation: $17.9 million
> Revenue: $126.0 billion
> Number of employees: 160,900
> Profit: $13.1 billion
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44. David Taylor
> Company: Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG)
> Total compensation: $18.1 million
> Revenue: $71.7 billion
> Number of employees: 105,000
> Profit: $10.5 billion
43. Larry J. Merlo
> Company: CVS Health (NYSE: CVS)
> Total compensation: $18.4 million
> Revenue: $177.5 billion
> Number of employees: 204,000
> Profit: $5.3 billion
42. Dennis A. Muilenburg
> Company: Boeing (NYSE: BA)
> Total compensation: $18.5 million
> Revenue: $94.6 billion
> Number of employees: 150,540
> Profit: $4.9 billion
41. Ernie Herrman
> Company: TJX (NYSE: TJX)
> Total compensation: $18.5 million
> Revenue: $33.2 billion
> Number of employees: 235,000
> Profit: $2.3 billion
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40. Virginia Marie Rometty
> Company: IBM (NYSE: IBM)
> Total compensation: $18.6 million
> Revenue: $79.9 billion
> Number of employees: 414,400
> Profit: $11.9 billion
39. Kenneth I. Chenault
> Company: American Express (NYSE: AXP)
> Total compensation: $18.6 million
> Revenue: $33.8 billion
> Number of employees: 56,400
> Profit: $5.4 billion
38. Mark T. Bertolini
> Company: Aetna (NYSE: AET)
> Total compensation: $18.7 million
> Revenue: $63.2 billion
> Number of employees: 49,500
> Profit: $2.3 billion
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37. Oscar Munoz
> Company: United Continental Holdings (NYSE: UAL)
> Total compensation: $18.7 million
> Revenue: $36.6 billion
> Number of employees: 88,000
> Profit: $2.3 billion
36. Thomas J. Wilson
> Company: Allstate (NYSE: ALL)
> Total compensation: $18.8 million
> Revenue: $36.5 billion
> Number of employees: 43,275
> Profit: $1.9 billion
35. Wesley G. Bush
> Company: Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC)
> Total compensation: $18.9 million
> Revenue: $24.5 billion
> Number of employees: 67,000
> Profit: $2.2 billion
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34. André Calantzopoulos
> Company: Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM)
> Total compensation: $19.0 million
> Revenue: $26.7 billion
> Number of employees: 79,500
> Profit: $7.0 billion
33. Brian M. Krzanich
> Company: Intel (NASDAQ: INTC)
> Total compensation: $19.1 million
> Revenue: $59.4 billion
> Number of employees: 106,000
> Profit: $10.3 billion
32. Gary R. Heminger
> Company: Marathon Petroleum (NYSE: MPC)
> Total compensation: $19.7 million
> Revenue: $55.9 billion
> Number of employees: 44,460
> Profit: $1.2 billion
31. Bruce D. Broussard
> Company: Humana (NYSE: HUM)
> Total compensation: $19.8 million
> Revenue: $54.4 billion
> Number of employees: 51,600
> Profit: $614.0 million
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30. Satya Nadella
> Company: Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)
> Total compensation: $20.0 million
> Revenue: $85.3 billion
> Number of employees: 114,000
> Profit: $16.8 billion
29. John H. Hammergren
> Company: McKesson (NYSE: MCK)
> Total compensation: $20.1 million
> Revenue: $192.5 billion
> Number of employees: 68,000
> Profit: $2.3 billion
28. James R. Murdoch
> Company: Twenty-First Century Fox (NASDAQ: FOX)
> Total compensation: $20.3 million
> Revenue: $27.3 billion
> Number of employees: 21,500
> Profit: $2.8 billion
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27. Inge G. Thulin
> Company: 3M (NYSE: MMM)
> Total compensation: $20.5 million
> Revenue: $30.1 billion
> Number of employees: 91,584
> Profit: $5.0 billion
26. James P. Gorman
> Company: Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS)
> Total compensation: $21.2 million
> Revenue: $37.9 billion
> Number of employees: 55,311
> Profit: $6.0 billion
25. Phebe N. Novakovic
> Company: General Dynamics (NYSE: GD)
> Total compensation: $21.5 million
> Revenue: $31.4 billion
> Number of employees: 98,800
> Profit: $3.0 billion
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24. Brian T. Moynihan
> Company: Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC)
> Total compensation: $21.8 million
> Revenue: $93.7 billion
> Number of employees: 208,024
> Profit: $17.9 billion
23. Kenneth C. Frazier
> Company: Merck (NYSE: MRK)
> Total compensation: $21.8 million
> Revenue: $39.8 billion
> Number of employees: 68,000
> Profit: $3.9 billion
22. Lloyd C. Blankfein
> Company: Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS)
> Total compensation: $22.0 million
> Revenue: $37.7 billion
> Number of employees: 34,400
> Profit: $7.4 billion
21. Carl Douglas McMillon
> Company: Walmart (NYSE: WMT)
> Total compensation: $22.4 million
> Revenue: $485.9 billion
> Number of employees: 2,300,000
> Profit: $13.6 billion
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20. Joseph W. Gorder
> Company: Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO)
> Total compensation: $22.5 million
> Revenue: $70.2 billion
> Number of employees: 9,996
> Profit: $2.3 billion
19. Mary T. Barra
> Company: General Motors (NYSE: GM)
> Total compensation: $22.6 million
> Revenue: $166.4 billion
> Number of employees: 225,000
> Profit: $9.4 billion
18. Richard A. Gonzalez
> Company: AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV)
> Total compensation: $22.6 million
> Revenue: $25.6 billion
> Number of employees: 30,000
> Profit: $6.0 billion
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17. Marillyn A. Hewson
> Company: Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT)
> Total compensation: $22.9 million
> Revenue: $50.7 billion
> Number of employees: 97,000
> Profit: $5.3 billion
16. Greg Garland
> Company: Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX)
> Total compensation: $23.7 million
> Revenue: $72.4 billion
> Number of employees: 14,800
> Profit: $1.6 billion
15. John S. Watson
> Company: Chevron (NYSE: CVX)
> Total compensation: $24.7 million
> Revenue: $107.6 billion
> Number of employees: 55,200
> Profit: – $497.0 million
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14. Michael F. Neidorff
> Company: Centene (NYSE: CNC)
> Total compensation: $25.3 million
> Revenue: $40.7 billion
> Number of employees: 30,500
> Profit: $562.0 million
13. Rex W. Tillerson
> Company: Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM)
> Total compensation: $27.4 million
> Revenue: $205.0 billion
> Number of employees: 72,700
> Profit: $7.8 billion
12. Ian Read
> Company: Pfizer (NYSE: PFE)
> Total compensation: $27.9 million
> Revenue: $52.8 billion
> Number of employees: 96,500
> Profit: $7.2 billion
11. James Dimon
> Company: J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM)
> Total compensation: $28.3 million
> Revenue: $105.5 billion
> Number of employees: 243,355
> Profit: $24.7 billion
10. Randall Stephenson
> Company: AT&T (NYSE: T)
> Total compensation: $28.7 million
> Revenue: $163.8 billion
> Number of employees: 268,540
> Profit: $13.0 billion
9. Alex Gorsky
> Company: Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)
> Total compensation: $29.8 million
> Revenue: $71.9 billion
> Number of employees: 126,400
> Profit: $16.5 billion
8. Indra K. Nooyi
> Company: PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP)
> Total compensation: $31.1 million
> Revenue: $62.8 billion
> Number of employees: 264,000
> Profit: $6.3 billion
7. Jeffrey L. Bewkes
> Company: Time Warner (NYSE: TWX)
> Total compensation: $32.6 million
> Revenue: $29.3 billion
> Number of employees: 25,000
> Profit: $3.9 billion
6. Brian L. Roberts
> Company: Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA)
> Total compensation: $33.0 million
> Revenue: $80.4 billion
> Number of employees: 159,000
> Profit: $8.7 billion
5. Robert A. Iger
> Company: Disney (NYSE: DIS)
> Total compensation: $36.3 million
> Revenue: $55.6 billion
> Number of employees: 195,000
> Profit: $9.4 billion
4. Safra A. Catz
> Company: Oracle (NYSE: ORCL)
> Total compensation: $40.7 million
> Revenue: $37.0 billion
> Number of employees: 136,000
> Profit: $8.9 billion
3. Mark V. Hurd
> Company: Oracle (NYSE: ORCL)
> Total compensation: $40.8 million
> Revenue: $37.0 billion
> Number of employees: 136,000
> Profit: $8.9 billion
2. Dirk Van de Put
> Company: Mondelez International (NASDAQ: MDLZ)
> Total compensation: $42.4 million
> Revenue: $25.9 billion
> Number of employees: 90,000
> Profit: $1.7 billion
1. Brian Duperreault
> Company: AIG (NYSE: AIG)
> Total compensation: $43.1 million
> Revenue: $52.4 billion
> Number of employees: 56,400
> Profit: -$849.0 million
Detailed findings and methodology:
For most working Americans, salary accounts for the bulk of their compensation. But for CEOs of multibillion dollar corporations, the paycheck is often just a small fraction of their overall compensation. To better align the CEOs’ interest with that of shareholders and the company overall, compensation packages are typically heavily performance driven.
For example, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s salary in 2017 was $1.5 million.After accounting for various bonuses, incentives, and stock options, Nadella earned over $20 million. Similarly, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ salary is less than $82,000 a year, and his total compensation package is nearly $1.7 million.
Like Bezos, many CEOs of the largest U.S. companies are also often the founders of their respective company. Google co-founder Larry Page pays himself just $1 per year. Despite the low salary, he ranks among the 10 wealthiest men in the world, with an estimated net-worth of $50.7 billion. Even Bezos’ compensation of $1.7 million pales in comparison to the majority of CEOs on this list. Still, because he is the largest Amazon shareholder, he is currently the wealthiest man in the world, with a net worth of $116 billion.
In addition to Page, the only other chief executive on this list with an annual compensation below $1 million is Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett. Despite his $100,000 annual compensation package, Buffett is the third wealthiest man in the world with an estimated net worth of $85 billion. Rather than company issued incentives and salary, the bulk of Buffett’s wealth comes from his large share of Berkshire Hathaway stock.
To identify the highest paid CEOs at America’s 100 largest companies, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed total CEO compensation at each of the 100 public companies with the highest reported revenue in fiscal 2016. All compensation figures are as of the last published proxy statement. In some companies, the CEO listed in the most recent proxy no longer holds the top job and is listed as retired in this story. Though they were listed separately in the most recent Fortune 500 list, Dow Chemical and DuPont have since merged and are noted on this list as DowDuPont Inc. Because software company Oracle has two CEOs, 101 CEOs are included on this list.
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