Chief executive officers are the highest-ranking — and often highest-profile — employees of any company or organization. They are also usually the highest paid. There are even some major companies where CEOs make over 1,000 times what their employees make.
Whether or not such a pay gap is justified is a matter of debate. The pressures that come with the top job at any major American company, however, 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 at the largest, publicly traded American companies by revenue. With only a few exceptions, the largest companies report CEO compensation packages of at least seven figures. The vast majority of these CEOs earn eight figures annually. Some of these CEOs are the richest person in their state and even among the richest in the country.
To rank the highest paid CEOs at America’s largest companies, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed total CEO compensation for the 150 largest public companies with the highest reported revenue for the year ended Dec. 31, 2017, unless otherwise noted, as reported by Forbes. All compensation figures and employee counts are as of the last published proxy statement or last published 10-K statement as of the time this data was collected. At some companies, the CEO listed in the most recent proxy no longer holds the top job and is listed as retired. Because software company Oracle has two CEOs, 100 CEOs are included on this list. We included companies that have been merged, acquired, or have gone private since the reported compensation period.
Click here to see the highest paid CEOs at America’s largest companies
Correction: A previous version of this piece incorrectly attributed former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi’s compensation to current CEO Ramon Laguarta. The profile has been changed to list the former CEO. The piece also incorrectly listed United Continental Holdings’ CEO Oscar Munoz’s compensation at $10.2 million, it has been corrected to $10.5 million. Finally, a data error improperly included INTL FCStone Inc CEO Sean M. O’Connor on this list. He has been removed.
Source: Courtesy of Cardinal Health
101. Michael Kaufmann
> Most recent annual compensation: $8.4 million
> Company: Cardinal Health
> Revenue: $130.0 billion
> Number of employees: 40,400
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Source: Courtesy of US Foods Holding
100. Pietro Satriano
> Most recent annual compensation: $8.6 million
> Company: US Foods Holding
> Revenue: $24.1 billion
> Number of employees: 25,204
Source: Courtesy of Sysco
99. Thomas Bené
> Most recent annual compensation: $8.8 million
> Company: Sysco
> Revenue: $55.4 billion
> Number of employees: 45,900
Source: Mike Coppola / Getty Images
99. Mark Parker
> Most recent annual compensation: $9.5 million
> Company: Nike
> Revenue: $34.4 billion
> Number of employees: 74,400
Source: Photo by Drew Angerer / Getty Images
98. Tom Hayes
> Most recent annual compensation: $9.5 million (stepped down)
> Company: Tyson Foods
> Revenue: $38.3 billion
> Number of employees: 114,000
Source: Courtesy of Prudential Financial
97. Charles Lowrey
> Most recent annual compensation: $10.4 million
> Company: Prudential Financial
> Revenue: $59.7 billion
> Number of employees: 49,705
Source: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
96. Oscar Munoz
> Most recent annual compensation: $10.5 million
> Company: United Continental Holdings
> Revenue: $37.7 billion
> Number of employees: 89,800
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Source: Courtesy of WCU
95. Todd Vasos
> Most recent annual compensation: $10.6 million
> Company: Dollar General
> Revenue: $23.5 billion
> Number of employees: 129,000
Source: Courtesy of Home Depot
94. Craig Menear
> Most recent annual compensation: $11.4 million
> Company: Home Depot
> Revenue: $100.9 billion
> Number of employees: 413,000
Source: Courtesy of AmerisourceBergen
93. Steven Collis
> Most recent annual compensation: $11.5 million
> Company: AmerisourceBergen
> Revenue: $153.1 billion
> Number of employees: 19,500
Source: Neilson Barnard / Getty Images
92. W. Rodney McMullen
> Most recent annual compensation: $11.5 million
> Company: Kroger
> Revenue: $122.7 billion
> Number of employees: 449,000
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Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
91. W. Douglas Parker
> Most recent annual compensation: $12.2 million
> Company: American Airlines Group
> Revenue: $42.2 billion
> Number of employees: 126,600
Source: Courtesy of Hewlett Packard Enterprise via Facebook
90. Antonio Neri
> Most recent annual compensation: $12.6 million
> Company: Hewlett Packard Enterprise
> Revenue: $28.9 billion
> Number of employees: 66,000
Source: C Flanigan / Getty Images
89. Jeff Gennette
> Most recent annual compensation: $12.7 million
> Company: Macy’s
> Revenue: $24.8 billion
> Number of employees: 148,300
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Source: Courtesy of 3M
88. Michael Roman
> Most recent annual compensation: $12.9 million
> Company: 3M
> Revenue: $31.7 billion
> Number of employees: 91,536
Source: Ramin Talaie / Getty Images
87. Arne Sorenson
> Most recent annual compensation: $12.9 million
> Company: Marriott International
> Revenue: $22.9 billion
> Number of employees: 177,000
Source: Courtesy of Southern Company
86. Thomas Fanning
> Most recent annual compensation: $13.1 million
> Company: Southern
> Revenue: $23.0 billion
> Number of employees: 31,344
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Source: Photo by Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
85. Edward Bastian
> Most recent annual compensation: $13.2 million
> Company: Delta Air Lines
> Revenue: $41.2 billion
> Number of employees: 86,564
Source: Stephen Brashear / Getty Images
84. Kevin Johnson
> Most recent annual compensation: $13.4 million
> Company: Starbucks
> Revenue: $22.4 billion
> Number of employees: 277,000
Source: Courtesy of U.S. Bank
83. Andrew Cecere
> Most recent annual compensation: $13.4 million
> Company: U.S. Bancorp
> Revenue: $24.0 billion
> Number of employees: 72,402
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
82. Stefano Pessina
> Most recent annual compensation: $13.5 million
> Company: Walgreens Boots Alliance
> Revenue: $118.2 billion
> Number of employees: 290,000
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Source: Photo by Getty Images
81. Edward Breen
> Most recent annual compensation: $13.8 million
> Company: DowDuPont Inc.
> Revenue: $62.7 billion
> Number of employees: 98,600
Source: Photo by Scott Halleran / Getty Images for KPMG
80. Lynn Good
> Most recent annual compensation: $14.0 million
> Company: Duke Energy
> Revenue: $23.2 billion
> Number of employees: 29,060
Source: Courtesy of Caterpillar
79. Jim Umpleby
> Most recent annual compensation: $14.0 million
> Company: Caterpillar
> Revenue: $45.6 billion
> Number of employees: 98,400
Source: Courtesy of Progressive
78. Susan Patricia Griffith
> Most recent annual compensation: $14.2 million
> Company: Progressive
> Revenue: $26.8 billion
> Number of employees: 33,656
Source: Nicholas Hunt / Getty Images
77. Gail Boudreaux
> Most recent annual compensation: $14.2 million
> Company: Anthem
> Revenue: $90.0 billion
> Number of employees: 56,000
Source: Pool / Getty Images
76. Marvin Ellison
> Most recent annual compensation: $14.3 million
> Company: Lowe’s
> Revenue: $68.6 billion
> Number of employees: 255,000
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Source: Courtesy of Travelers
75. Alan Schnitzer
> Most recent annual compensation: $14.6 million
> Company: Travelers Cos.
> Revenue: $28.9 billion
> Number of employees: 30,800
Source: Courtesy of MetLife
74. Steven Kandarian
> Most recent annual compensation: $14.7 million
> Company: MetLife
> Revenue: $66.2 billion
> Number of employees: 49,000
Source: Courtesy of Mondelēz International
73. Dirk Van de Put
> Most recent annual compensation: $15.0 million
> Company: Mondelez International
> Revenue: $25.9 billion
> Number of employees: 90,000
Source: gageskidmore / Flickr
72. David Abney
> Most recent annual compensation: $15.1 million
> Company: UPS
> Revenue: $65.9 billion
> Number of employees: 346,415
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Source: Courtesy of Arrow Electronics
71. Michael Long
> Most recent annual compensation: $15.3 million
> Company: Arrow Electronics
> Revenue: $26.8 billion
> Number of employees: 18,800
Source: Courtesy of Exelon
70. Christopher Crane
> Most recent annual compensation: $15.6 million
> Company: Exelon
> Revenue: $33.5 billion
> Number of employees: 34,621
Source: Stephanie Keith / Getty Images
69. Tim Cook
> Most recent annual compensation: $15.7 million
> Company: Apple
> Revenue: $229.2 billion
> Number of employees: 123,000
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Source: Drew Angerer / Getty Images
68. Stephen Easterbrook
> Most recent annual compensation: $15.9 million
> Company: McDonald’s
> Revenue: $22.8 billion
> Number of employees: 375,000
Source: Courtesy of Express Scripts Holding
67. Timothy Wentworth
> Most recent annual compensation: $15.9 million
> Company: Express Scripts Holding (since acquired by Cigna)
> Revenue: $100.1 billion
> Number of employees: 26,600
Source: Courtesy of Philip Morris International
66. André Calantzopoulos
> Most recent annual compensation: $15.9 million
> Company: Philip Morris International
> Revenue: $28.7 billion
> Number of employees: 80,600
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Source: Courtesy of Humana
65. Bruce D. Broussard
> Most recent annual compensation: $16.3 million
> Company: Humana
> Revenue: $53.8 billion
> Number of employees: 45,900
Source: Courtesy of Raytheon
64. Thomas Kennedy
> Most recent annual compensation: $16.3 million
> Company: Raytheon
> Revenue: $25.3 billion
> Number of employees: 64,000
Source: Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images
63. James Quincey
> Most recent annual compensation: $16.4 million
> Company: Coca-Cola
> Revenue: $35.4 billion
> Number of employees: 61,800
Source: Courtesy of General Electric
62. John Flannery
> Most recent annual compensation: $16.6 million (stepped down)
> Company: General Electric
> Revenue: $122.3 billion
> Number of employees: 313,000
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Source: Courtesy of Intel
61. Robert Swan
> Most recent annual compensation: $16.7 million
> Company: Intel
> Revenue: $62.8 billion
> Number of employees: 102,700
Source: Best Buy Co., Inc. / Wikimedia Commons
60. Hubert Joly
> Most recent annual compensation: $16.8 million
> Company: Best Buy
> Revenue: $42.2 billion
> Number of employees: 125,000
Source: Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images
59. Ernie Herrman
> Most recent annual compensation: $16.9 million
> Company: TJX
> Revenue: $35.9 billion
> Number of employees: 235,000
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Source: Courtesy of Eli Lilly
58. David Ricks
> Most recent annual compensation: $17.2 million
> Company: Eli Lilly
> Revenue: $22.9 billion
> Number of employees: 40,655
Source: Photo by Shaun Heasley / Getty Images
57. Richard Fairbank
> Most recent annual compensation: $17.3 million
> Company: Capital One Financial
> Revenue: $30.0 billion
> Number of employees: 49,300
Source: Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images
56. S.J. Squeri
> Most recent annual compensation: $17.3 million
> Company: American Express
> Revenue: $35.6 billion
> Number of employees: 55,000
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Source: Courtesy of Procter & Gamble
55. David Taylor
> Most recent annual compensation: $17.4 million
> Company: Procter & Gamble
> Revenue: $66.2 billion
> Number of employees: 95,000
Source: Courtesy of UnitedHealth
54. David Wichmann
> Most recent annual compensation: $17.4 million
> Company: UnitedHealth Group
> Revenue: $201.2 billion
> Number of employees: 260,000
Source: Paul Morigi / Getty Images
53. V.M. Rometty
> Most recent annual compensation: $17.6 million
> Company: IBM
> Revenue: $79.1 billion
> Number of employees: 366,000
Source: Riccardo Savi / Getty Images
52. Gregory Hayes
> Most recent annual compensation: $17.6 million
> Company: United Technologies
> Revenue: $59.8 billion
> Number of employees: 204,700
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Source: Ethan Miller / Getty Images
51. James Hackett
> Most recent annual compensation: $17.8 million
> Company: Ford Motor
> Revenue: $156.8 billion
> Number of employees: 202,000
Source: Courtesy of General Electric
50. John Hammergren
> Most recent annual compensation: $18.1 million (stepped down)
> Company: McKesson
> Revenue: $198.5 billion
> Number of employees: 64,500
Source: jnj.com
49. Alex Gorsky
> Most recent annual compensation: $18.2 million
> Company: Johnson & Johnson
> Revenue: $76.5 billion
> Number of employees: 134,000
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Source: Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images
48. Timothy Sloan
> Most recent annual compensation: $18.4 million (stepped down)
> Company: Wells Fargo
> Revenue: $97.7 billion
> Number of employees: 262,700
Source: Premier.gov.ru / Wikimedia Commons
47. Samuel Allen
> Most recent annual compensation: $18.5 million
> Company: Deere
> Revenue: $29.7 billion
> Number of employees: 60,476
Source: Christopher Polk / Getty Images
46. Robert Bradway
> Most recent annual compensation: $18.6 million
> Company: Amgen
> Revenue: $22.8 billion
> Number of employees: 20,800
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Source: Photo by Daniel Boczarski / Getty Images
45. Thomas Wilson
> Most recent annual compensation: $18.7 million
> Company: Allstate
> Revenue: $38.5 billion
> Number of employees: 42,680
Source: Cindy Ord / Getty Images
44. Mark Bertolini
> Most recent annual compensation: $18.8 million
> Company: Aetna (since sold to CVS)
> Revenue: $60.5 billion
> Number of employees: 47,950
Source: Courtesy of Valero
43. Joseph Gorder
> Most recent annual compensation: $18.8 million
> Company: Valero Energy
> Revenue: $88.4 billion
> Number of employees: 10,015
Source: Mark Schiefelbein / Pool / Getty Images
42. Darren Woods
> Most recent annual compensation: $18.8 million
> Company: Exxon Mobil
> Revenue: $244.4 billion
> Number of employees: 71,200
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Source: Cigna Corporation / Wikimedia Commons
41. David Cordani
> Most recent annual compensation: $18.9 million
> Company: Cigna
> Revenue: $41.6 billion
> Number of employees: 46,000
Source: Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images
40. Dion Weisler
> Most recent annual compensation: $19.2 million
> Company: HP
> Revenue: $52.1 billion
> Number of employees: 49,000
Source: Photo by Jeff Zelevansky / Wikimedia Commons
39. Darius Adamczyk
> Most recent annual compensation: $19.2 million
> Company: Honeywell International
> Revenue: $40.5 billion
> Number of employees: 131,000
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Source: Courtesy of Phillips 66
38. Greg Garland
> Most recent annual compensation: $19.3 million
> Company: Phillips 66
> Revenue: $91.6 billion
> Number of employees: 14,600
Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
37. I. Read
> Most recent annual compensation: $19.5 million (stepped down)
> Company: Pfizer
> Revenue: $52.5 billion
> Number of employees: 90,200
Source: Courtesy of Archer Daniels Midland
36. J. R. Luciano
> Most recent annual compensation: $19.6 million
> Company: Archer Daniels Midland
> Revenue: $60.8 billion
> Number of employees: 31,300
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Source: Ethan Miller / Getty Images
35. Steve MollenKopf
> Most recent annual compensation: $20.0 million
> Company: Qualcomm
> Revenue: $22.9 billion
> Number of employees: 33,800
Source: Courtesy of Chevron
34. M.K. Wirth
> Most recent annual compensation: $20.6 million
> Company: Chevron
> Revenue: $134.5 billion
> Number of employees: 51,900
Source: Paul Morigi / Getty Images
33. David Solomon
> Most recent annual compensation: $20.7 million
> Company: Goldman Sachs Group
> Revenue: $42.3 billion
> Number of employees: 36,600
Source: Paul Morigi / Getty Images
32. Phebe Novakovic
> Most recent annual compensation: $20.7 million
> Company: General Dynamics
> Revenue: $31.0 billion
> Number of employees: 98,800
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Source: Starkjames / Wikimedia Commons
31. Brian Duperreault
> Most recent annual compensation: $20.9 million
> Company: AIG
> Revenue: $49.5 billion
> Number of employees: 49,800
Source: Spencer Platt / Getty Images
30. Kenneth Frazier
> Most recent annual compensation: $20.9 million
> Company: Merck
> Revenue: $40.1 billion
> Number of employees: 69,000
Source: Photo by Win McNamee / Getty Images
29. Richard Gonzalez
> Most recent annual compensation: $21.3 million
> Company: AbbVie
> Revenue: $28.2 billion
> Number of employees: 29,000
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Source: Courtesy of Cisco
28. Charles Robbins
> Most recent annual compensation: $21.3 million
> Company: Cisco Systems
> Revenue: $48.0 billion
> Number of employees: 72,900
Source: hcatodayblog.com
27. R. Milton Johnson
> Most recent annual compensation: $21.4 million (stepped down)
> Company: HCA Healthcare
> Revenue: $47.7 billion
> Number of employees: 221,491
Source: Paul Morigi / Getty Images
26. Marillyn Hewson
> Most recent annual compensation: $21.5 million
> Company: Lockheed Martin
> Revenue: $51.0 billion
> Number of employees: 100,000
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Source: Paul Morigi / Getty Images
25. Mary Barra
> Most recent annual compensation: $21.9 million
> Company: General Motors
> Revenue: $157.3 billion
> Number of employees: 180,000
Source: Courtesy of International Paper
24. Mark Sutton
> Most recent annual compensation: $21.9 million
> Company: International Paper
> Revenue: $23.3 billion
> Number of employees: 56,000
Source: Courtesy of CVS
23. Larry Merlo
> Most recent annual compensation: $21.9 million
> Company: CVS Health
> Revenue: $184.8 billion
> Number of employees: 203,000
Source: 92587836@N04 / Flickr
2-. Hans Vestberg
> Most recent annual compensation: $22.2 million
> Company: Verizon
> Revenue: $126.0 billion
> Number of employees: 155,400
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Source: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
19. Mark Zuckerberg
> Most recent annual compensation: $22.6 million
> Company: Facebook
> Revenue: $40.7 billion
> Number of employees: 25,105
Source: Alex Wong / Getty Images
18. Brian Moynihan
> Most recent annual compensation: $22.8 million
> Company: Bank of America Corp.
> Revenue: $100.3 billion
> Number of employees: 209,376
Source: Paras Griffin / Getty Images
17. C. Douglas McMillon
> Most recent annual compensation: $22.8 million
> Company: Walmart
> Revenue: $500.3 billion
> Number of employees: 2,300,000
Source: Stephen Brashear / Getty Images
16. Dennis Muilenburg
> Most recent annual compensation: $23.4 million
> Company: Boeing
> Revenue: $93.4 billion
> Number of employees: 140,800
Source: Courtesy of ConocoPhillips
15. R.M. Lance
> Most recent annual compensation: $23.4 million
> Company: ConocoPhillips
> Revenue: $32.6 billion
> Number of employees: 11,400
Source: Alex Wroblewski / Getty Images
14. Michael Corbat
> Most recent annual compensation: $24.2 million
> Company: Citigroup
> Revenue: $88.0 billion
> Number of employees: 209,000
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Source: Courtesy of Northrop Grumman
13. Wesley Bush
> Most recent annual compensation: $24.2 million (stepped down)
> Company: Northrop Grumman
> Revenue: $25.8 billion
> Number of employees: 70,000
Source: Photo by Scott Olson / Getty Images
12. Miles White
> Most recent annual compensation: $24.3 million
> Company: Abbott Laboratories
> Revenue: $27.4 billion
> Number of employees: 99,000
Source: Paul Morigi / Getty Images
11. Indra Nooyi
> Most recent annual compensation: $24.5 million (stepped down)
> Company: PepsiCo
> Revenue: $62.8 billion
> Number of employees: 263,000
Source: Stephen Brashear / Getty Images
10. Satya Nadella
> Most recent annual compensation: $25.8 million
> Company: Microsoft
> Revenue: $90.0 billion
> Number of employees: 124,000
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Source: Courtesy of Gilead
9. John Milligan
> Most recent annual compensation: $26.0 million (stepped down)
> Company: Gilead Sciences
> Revenue: $26.1 billion
> Number of employees: 10,000
Source: thejointstaff / Flickr
8. Michael Neidorff
> Most recent annual compensation: $26.1 million
> Company: Centene
> Revenue: $48.6 billion
> Number of employees: 33,700
24/7 Wall St.
Source: Photo by Andrew Burton / Getty Images
7. James Gorman
> Most recent annual compensation: $28.2 million
> Company: Morgan Stanley
> Revenue: $43.6 billion
> Number of employees: 57,633
Source: Win McNamee / Getty Images
6. R. Stephenson
> Most recent annual compensation: $29.1 million
> Company: AT&T
> Revenue: $160.5 billion
> Number of employees: 254,000
Source: Scott Olson / Getty Images
5. James Dimon
> Most recent annual compensation: $31.0 million
> Company: J.P. Morgan Chase
> Revenue: $113.9 billion
> Number of employees: 252,539
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Source: Ethan Miller / Getty Images
4. Brian Roberts
> Most recent annual compensation: $32.5 million
> Company: Comcast
> Revenue: $84.5 billion
> Number of employees: 164,000
Source: Kimberly White / Getty Images
3. Robert Iger
> Most recent annual compensation: $65.6 million
> Company: Disney
> Revenue: $55.1 billion
> Number of employees: 199,000
Source: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
2. Safra Catz
> Most recent annual compensation: $108.3 million (tie)
> Company: Oracle
> Revenue: $37.7 billion
> Number of employees: 138,000
Source: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
1. Mark Hurd
> Most recent annual compensation: $108.3 million (tie)
> Company: Oracle
> Revenue: $37.7 billion
> Number of employees: 138,000
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