One of the most coveted positions is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) role. The position comes with benefits and bonuses. However, it does come with many responsibilities to ensure that the company operates smoothly.
That’s why corporations need to entrust the role to someone deserving of the position and can help raise the company soar to new heights. When done right, that CEO can get so much more than what their company offers. As such, in this article, we discuss the top CEO Salaries in 2019.
ELON MUSK
Two CEO indexes list Tesla, Inc.’s Elon Musk as the CEO with the highest salary. The majority of his salary is option awards ranging from $500M to $2 B, which made him high up the list. His actual salary is around $56,000.
Meanwhile, for the Forbes Billionaires 2019 list, he was number 40. His net worth is $22.3 B.
Not only does he leads Tesla, but he’s also the CEO of SpaceX, Neuralink, and The Boring Company.
SAFRA CATZ
Before Mark Hurd’s passing in 2019, Safra Catz and Hurd were both the CEOs of Oracle. Based on the New York Times index, Catz and Hurd received equal pay as Co-CEOs. Catz (and Hurd) gets more of her CEO salary from stock options. She has $103.7 M from stock options.
Furthermore, she’s also part of the Forbes Billionaire 2019 list having a net worth of $1.1B.
ROBERT IGER
Walt Disney Co.’s Robert Iger is always part of the Top 10 CEO salaries index. He’s both the Chairman and CEO of the company. Most of his salary comes from stock options or acquisition awards ($30 M to $100 M range). His actual salary is more or less at $2.8M.
TIM COOK
It’s no surprise that Apple’s CEO makes it on the list. Apple continues to become one of the largest tech corporations in the world through innovation. According to Bloomberg, Tim Cook has an estimated $140M overall compensation. Most of his salary comes from stock awards (~$125 M) and bonuses ($12 M).
DAVID ZASLAV
Discovery Inc.’s David Zaslav has been the media channel of Discovery Media since 2007. He receives most of his salary from stock options and retention awards ranging from $60 to $100 M. He also receives $3 M as his actual salary, making him part of the Top CEO Salaries list.
NIKESH ARORA
Palo Alto Networks is a cybersecurity company and welcomed its new CEO in June 2018. The newly-appointed CEO, Nikesh Arora, has one of the highest CEO salaries. Even if his actual salary is on the $100K to $200K range, his stock options gave him the boost. The range of his options is from $60 to $70 M.
JOHN LEGERE
As CEO of one of the largest mobile networks in the US, it’s no surprise that T-Mobile’s John Legere is part of the top 10. As with many on the list, stocks are one of his main sources of compensation. As such he receives around $58 M from it. Based on the S&P 500, he has an annual salary of $66 M.
JAMES HEPPELMANN
James Heppelmann is the president and CEO of PTC, Inc. It’s a company delving into software solutions. Most of his salary comes from stock, ranging from $20 M to 45 M. According to the Russell 3000 Index, his annual salary was at almost $50 M.
VIVEK SHAH
J2 Global is a global internet and service company that handles known brands like Mashable, IGN, and PCMag among others. Vivek Shah is their CEO accumulating around $45 M in 2018. The majority of his salary comes from stocks valued at $35 M.
RICHARD HANDLER
Richard Handler is the CEO of Jeffries Group. The company handles financial services such as investment banking and asset management. According to the New York Times Index, his overall salary is around $45 M, and he receives most of his salary with stocks priced at almost $39 M.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Some corporations provide a low basic salary, but through stocks, some are compensated. In turn, they’re able to skyrocket at the top of indexes. Meanwhile, some have high salaries, but get more through stocks and benefits.
In this regard, not all CEO salaries are the same. It’s dependent on what the corporation gives them and how they can make better use of their salaries especially when given stock options or rewards.
