FILE-One hundred dollar bills are being shown in this picture illustration. (Photo by Matias Baglietto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
CEO compensation increased by almost 6% to $17.7 million last year as company boards rewarded their top executives for bigger profits and larger stock prices.
To determine the executives that had the largest pay increases, the Associated Press released its CEO compensation survey which utilized pay data for 337 executives at S&P 500 companies, who have served at least two full fiscal years at their organizations which filed statements between Jan. 1 and April 30.
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The AP noted that the median employees at these companies earned $89,744, reflecting a 4.7% increase year after year.
Which CEOs' pay grew the most?
By the numbers:
Top executives at major corporations received massive compensation deals. Here are some of the CEOs that experienced sizable pay growth.
Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk received compensation valued at $132.3 billion in the form of stock awards. According to the Associated Press, there are specific benchmarks Musk is required to meet to receive the shares.
Over the next 10 years, Musk must meet goals for the company's market value and Tesla's electric vehicles and develop a fleet of robotaxis and an army of humanoid robots.
Shankh Mitra
Shankh Mitra of Welltower received the second-largest compensation package at $821.1 million, most of it in stock awards, the AP reported.
Mitra was named CEO of the organization in October 2020 and over the years Welltower’s stock price tripled. The AP reported that Mitra can only receive the full compensation, beyond a $110,000 annual salary, after a 10-year span.
Hock Tan
CEO Hock Tan's pay package at Broadcom is valued at $205.3 million and covers the years 2028-2030 — organizations assign a value at the time the package is awarded — and is tied to Tan's ability to boost the revenue Broadcom generates from artificial intelligence.
Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett, in his final year as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, received compensation worth $389,488, representing a slight decline from the year before, according to the AP.
Mark Zuckerberg
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's compensation was valued at $25.1 million with most of it involving costs for the tech company to provide security for Zuckerberg and his family, and the use of the company aircraft.
Jensen Huang
Jensen Huang of Nvidia received a pay package valued at $36.3 million. According to the AP, Huang didn't make the news outlet’s survey because Nvidia filed its proxy after April 30.
Bank CEO large payouts
Dig deeper:
Furthermore, CEOs of the three largest banks in the U.S. were rewarded for their efforts to retool their organizations and resurrect stock prices.
Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon's pay package totaled nearly $119 million — including stock valued at $80 million Solomon’s can get after five years.
Jane Fraser of Citigroup received a pay package valued at $95.8 million and Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf got a pay package worth $94.5 million.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, which released a survey using fiscal data for executives at S&P 500 companies. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.