Equilar 100: A Snapshot of the Highest-Paid CEOs in America

The rise in CEO compensation persisted in 2023, according to a new Equilar study. The 2024 edition of the Equilar 100?an annual early look at CEO compensation among the largest U.S. companies by revenue to file a proxy statement by March 31?shows that median CEO pay jumped to $23.7 million in 2023, marking an increase of 11.4% for the same set of companies from a year ago. The highest-paid CEO on this year's list is Broadcom's Hock E. Tan, who was awarded a pay package of nearly $162 million in 2023.

The acceleration in CEO compensation was largely driven by the rise in stock award values. In 2023, median stock awards surged by 20.9% from $12.6 million to $15.3 million. Among Equilar 100 CEOs in 2023, stock awards made up nearly 65% of median total compensation. Additionally, total cash compensation increased by roughly 4% to $6.1 million, with cash bonuses increasing by 2.4% to $3.9 million. The steady uptick in cash compensation could be attributed to the 13.8% increase in median total return for Equilar 100 companies in 2023, propelling companies to reward their CEOs for strong financial and market gains during the year.

Overall, Tan was one of three CEOs with a nine-figure pay package in 2023. Nikesh Arora, CEO at Palo Alto Networks, was awarded a pay package of $151.4 million. Meanwhile, Coty CEO Sue Y. Nabi earned a pay package of $149.4 million in 2023. The compensation packages of all three CEOs primarily consisted of long-term equity awards.

For all companies featured in this year's Equilar 100 list, the median fiscal year-end revenue was $25.1 billion in 2023. Apple topped the list for the fifth consecutive year, achieving a revenue of over $383 billion in 2023.

Read the full study for more findings.

About the Report

The Equilar 100 includes the largest U.S.-listed companies with revenues of at least $1 billion to file annual proxy statements by March 31 to provide an early look at the highest-paid CEOs in 2023. While many of the companies in the Equilar 100 are consistent from year to year, due to changes in revenue and floating filing dates the list is not the same every year. The findings in this study are a snapshot of CEO pay trends, and with thousands of more companies filing annual proxy statements in April, a more comprehensive look will be forthcoming in several weeks after all the data is processed.

About Equilar

Equilar is the leading provider of executive intelligence solutions. The company's expertise in relationship intelligence drives state-of-the-art business development and CRM applications, board and executive recruitment, and compensation and governance strategies. Equilar integrates its extensive database of executive profiles with natural language processing and machine learning AI to enable real-time relationship analytics and targeted outreach for its global clients. Equilar's commitment to excellence has made it the go-to solution for over 1,000 companies, including 75% of the Fortune 500, top PE/VC firms and leading professional services entities. Learn more at www.equilar.com.