Compensation Soars Over 20% for America’s Highest-Paid CEOs
June 7, 2024
Amit Batish
The role of chief executive officers (CEOs) is extremely demanding. Chief executives bear the responsibility of steering their organizations towards financial growth while navigating the complexities of economic and regulatory challenges and fending off competitive threats. As such, it comes as no surprise that companies often award their CEOs massive pay packages as incentive to perform at a high level. It seems compensation for public company CEOs continues to rise each year, with the trend persisting in 2023.
For 17 years, Equilar has partnered with The New York Times to uncover trends in CEO compensation across Corporate America. The New York Times recently published coverage* of new findings from the annual CEO pay study, and the results show that compensation packages for executives in the corner office are quite lucrative. For the purposes of this post, Equilar analyzed just a portion of the findings provided to The New York Times. This post examines the 100 largest CEO pay packages among U.S. public companies with revenues of at least $1 billion and that filed a proxy statement by April 30, 2024 (see full methodology in footer).
The introductory page of this feature highlights the top 10 highest-paid CEOs in 2023. Below the highest-paid CEO table, there is a link to view the full list of the Equilar 100 CEOs in an interactive chart that allows you to sort by compensation, compensation actually paid (CAP), revenue and other company measurements. A summary of key findings from the study follows on this page.
| EXECUTIVE NAME COMPANY NAME (TICKER) | TOTAL COMPENSATION | FY 2023 REVENUE ($M) | |||
| 1 |
| $198,685,926 | $2,389 | ||
| 2 |
| $186,994,098 | $2,963 | ||
| 3 |
| $161,826,161 | $35,819 | ||
| 4 |
| $151,425,203 | $6,892 | ||
| 5 |
| $149,429,486 | $5,554 | ||
| 6 |
| $89,077,078 | $54,607 | ||
| 7 |
| $83,879,504 | $5,960 | ||
| 8 |
| $83,361,678 | $3,283 | ||
| 9 |
| $78,238,027 | $4,403 | ||
| 10 |
| $66,349,962 | $1,513 |
Key Trends and Takeaways
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CEO compensation soars 20.1%. The median total compensation for CEOs in the study spiked to $29.1 million in 2023, up over 20% from 2022. The highest-paid CEO in the study is Jon Winkelried of TPG, Inc., whose total disclosed pay package was $198.7 million in 2023. The five highest-paid CEOs were each awarded a nine-figure pay package in 2023.
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Large jump in stock award values propels a big pay bump. In 2023, the median value of stock awards granted to CEOs in the study took a large 38.7% leap, increasing to $21 million. The increase in stock award values was largely responsible for total disclosed compensation rising at such a high rate. Stock awards tend to make up the largest portion of an executive’s compensation package, and fluctuations in values will likely have a noticeable impact on total compensation. It’s important to note that the disclosed figures reflect grant date fair values of awards, compensation the CEOs on this list will likely not realize until a future date after achieving targeted performance goals for the organization.
Meanwhile, total cash compensation for CEOs in the study increased slightly by 2.8%. Cash bonuses increased by 26.5% from $3.4 million in 2022 to $4.3 million in 2023. The uptick in cash bonuses may be a result of the companies in the study recording strong shareholder returns—a median of 23% for the study—as compensation committees rewarded their CEOs for impressive financial growth.
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CEO Pay Ratio reaches 312:1. The CEO Pay Ratio for companies in the study rose to 312:1 in 2023, with the median employee earning $101,947. However, comparing CEO pay to median employee pay can be challenging, as CEOs are largely compensated through stock awards, whereas median employees primarily receive salaries and bonuses. The ratio has appeared in proxy disclosures for seven years now, and while its impact on executive compensation remains limited, it continues to be a contentious issue among the public.
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Compensation Actually Paid (CAP) figures surpass total disclosed pay. The median CAP value for CEOs in the study was $46.5 million in 2023, approximately 60% higher than total disclosed pay. The objective of the CAP calculation is to capture the change in fair value of previously granted awards to CEOs, clearly indicating how much the executive has gained from equity awards over time. The disclosure is in year two, and it remains to be seen if investors and other stakeholders will use this information in their decision-making processes.
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Six women make the 100 highest-paid CEOs list. Six women were among the highest-paid CEOs in 2023, earning $30.5 million—slightly higher than the overall median of the study. Sue Y. Nabi, CEO at Coty, was the highest-paid woman in 2023, earning a pay package of $149.4 million.
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Walmart records the highest revenue in 2023. Retail giant Walmart led all companies in the study with a recorded revenue of $648 billion in 2023. Overall, the median revenue was $21.7 billion for the companies in the study, representing a 7% gain from the prior year.
Methodology Notes: The Equilar 100 includes the largest pay packages awarded to CEOs from U.S.-based or listed companies with more than $1 billion in revenue that filed proxy statements for fiscal year 2023 by April 30, 2024. The figures represent what was awarded to a CEO in fiscal year 2023, and include salary, cash bonuses, stock and options awards valued at grant date, and other compensation (including benefits and perks). These numbers exclude change in pension values and above market earnings on deferred compensation. While many of the companies in the Equilar 100 are consistent from year to year, due to changes in revenue the list is not the same every year.
*The top 10 highest-paid CEOs featured in The New York Times’ coverage focuses on the highest-paid CEOs regardless of revenue or filing type.
Contact
Amit Batish
Senior Director of Content at Equilar
Amit Batish, Senior Director of Content & Communications at Equilar, authored this post. Courtney Yu, Director of Research, and MaryClare Colombo, Senior Research Analyst, provided data and analysis. Please contact Amit Batish at [email protected].
