Special Report
Highest Paid CEOs at America's Largest Companies
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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.
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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100. Pietro Satriano
> Most recent annual compensation: $8.6 million
> Company: US Foods Holding
> Revenue: $24.1 billion
> Number of employees: 25,204
99. Thomas Bené
> Most recent annual compensation: $8.8 million
> Company: Sysco
> Revenue: $55.4 billion
> Number of employees: 45,900
99. Mark Parker
> Most recent annual compensation: $9.5 million
> Company: Nike
> Revenue: $34.4 billion
> Number of employees: 74,400
98. Tom Hayes
> Most recent annual compensation: $9.5 million (stepped down)
> Company: Tyson Foods
> Revenue: $38.3 billion
> Number of employees: 114,000
97. Charles Lowrey
> Most recent annual compensation: $10.4 million
> Company: Prudential Financial
> Revenue: $59.7 billion
> Number of employees: 49,705
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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95. Todd Vasos
> Most recent annual compensation: $10.6 million
> Company: Dollar General
> Revenue: $23.5 billion
> Number of employees: 129,000
94. Craig Menear
> Most recent annual compensation: $11.4 million
> Company: Home Depot
> Revenue: $100.9 billion
> Number of employees: 413,000
93. Steven Collis
> Most recent annual compensation: $11.5 million
> Company: AmerisourceBergen
> Revenue: $153.1 billion
> Number of employees: 19,500
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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91. W. Douglas Parker
> Most recent annual compensation: $12.2 million
> Company: American Airlines Group
> Revenue: $42.2 billion
> Number of employees: 126,600
90. Antonio Neri
> Most recent annual compensation: $12.6 million
> Company: Hewlett Packard Enterprise
> Revenue: $28.9 billion
> Number of employees: 66,000
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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88. Michael Roman
> Most recent annual compensation: $12.9 million
> Company: 3M
> Revenue: $31.7 billion
> Number of employees: 91,536
87. Arne Sorenson
> Most recent annual compensation: $12.9 million
> Company: Marriott International
> Revenue: $22.9 billion
> Number of employees: 177,000
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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85. Edward Bastian
> Most recent annual compensation: $13.2 million
> Company: Delta Air Lines
> Revenue: $41.2 billion
> Number of employees: 86,564
84. Kevin Johnson
> Most recent annual compensation: $13.4 million
> Company: Starbucks
> Revenue: $22.4 billion
> Number of employees: 277,000
83. Andrew Cecere
> Most recent annual compensation: $13.4 million
> Company: U.S. Bancorp
> Revenue: $24.0 billion
> Number of employees: 72,402
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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81. Edward Breen
> Most recent annual compensation: $13.8 million
> Company: DowDuPont Inc.
> Revenue: $62.7 billion
> Number of employees: 98,600
80. Lynn Good
> Most recent annual compensation: $14.0 million
> Company: Duke Energy
> Revenue: $23.2 billion
> Number of employees: 29,060
79. Jim Umpleby
> Most recent annual compensation: $14.0 million
> Company: Caterpillar
> Revenue: $45.6 billion
> Number of employees: 98,400
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78. Susan Patricia Griffith
> Most recent annual compensation: $14.2 million
> Company: Progressive
> Revenue: $26.8 billion
> Number of employees: 33,656
77. Gail Boudreaux
> Most recent annual compensation: $14.2 million
> Company: Anthem
> Revenue: $90.0 billion
> Number of employees: 56,000
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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75. Alan Schnitzer
> Most recent annual compensation: $14.6 million
> Company: Travelers Cos.
> Revenue: $28.9 billion
> Number of employees: 30,800
74. Steven Kandarian
> Most recent annual compensation: $14.7 million
> Company: MetLife
> Revenue: $66.2 billion
> Number of employees: 49,000
73. Dirk Van de Put
> Most recent annual compensation: $15.0 million
> Company: Mondelez International
> Revenue: $25.9 billion
> Number of employees: 90,000
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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71. Michael Long
> Most recent annual compensation: $15.3 million
> Company: Arrow Electronics
> Revenue: $26.8 billion
> Number of employees: 18,800
70. Christopher Crane
> Most recent annual compensation: $15.6 million
> Company: Exelon
> Revenue: $33.5 billion
> Number of employees: 34,621
69. Tim Cook
> Most recent annual compensation: $15.7 million
> Company: Apple
> Revenue: $229.2 billion
> Number of employees: 123,000
68. Stephen Easterbrook
> Most recent annual compensation: $15.9 million
> Company: McDonald’s
> Revenue: $22.8 billion
> Number of employees: 375,000
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
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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65. Bruce D. Broussard
> Most recent annual compensation: $16.3 million
> Company: Humana
> Revenue: $53.8 billion
> Number of employees: 45,900
64. Thomas Kennedy
> Most recent annual compensation: $16.3 million
> Company: Raytheon
> Revenue: $25.3 billion
> Number of employees: 64,000
63. James Quincey
> Most recent annual compensation: $16.4 million
> Company: Coca-Cola
> Revenue: $35.4 billion
> Number of employees: 61,800
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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61. Robert Swan
> Most recent annual compensation: $16.7 million
> Company: Intel
> Revenue: $62.8 billion
> Number of employees: 102,700
60. Hubert Joly
> Most recent annual compensation: $16.8 million
> Company: Best Buy
> Revenue: $42.2 billion
> Number of employees: 125,000
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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58. David Ricks
> Most recent annual compensation: $17.2 million
> Company: Eli Lilly
> Revenue: $22.9 billion
> Number of employees: 40,655
57. Richard Fairbank
> Most recent annual compensation: $17.3 million
> Company: Capital One Financial
> Revenue: $30.0 billion
> Number of employees: 49,300
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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55. David Taylor
> Most recent annual compensation: $17.4 million
> Company: Procter & Gamble
> Revenue: $66.2 billion
> Number of employees: 95,000
54. David Wichmann
> Most recent annual compensation: $17.4 million
> Company: UnitedHealth Group
> Revenue: $201.2 billion
> Number of employees: 260,000
53. V.M. Rometty
> Most recent annual compensation: $17.6 million
> Company: IBM
> Revenue: $79.1 billion
> Number of employees: 366,000
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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51. James Hackett
> Most recent annual compensation: $17.8 million
> Company: Ford Motor
> Revenue: $156.8 billion
> Number of employees: 202,000
50. John Hammergren
> Most recent annual compensation: $18.1 million (stepped down)
> Company: McKesson
> Revenue: $198.5 billion
> Number of employees: 64,500
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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48. Timothy Sloan
> Most recent annual compensation: $18.4 million (stepped down)
> Company: Wells Fargo
> Revenue: $97.7 billion
> Number of employees: 262,700
47. Samuel Allen
> Most recent annual compensation: $18.5 million
> Company: Deere
> Revenue: $29.7 billion
> Number of employees: 60,476
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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45. Thomas Wilson
> Most recent annual compensation: $18.7 million
> Company: Allstate
> Revenue: $38.5 billion
> Number of employees: 42,680
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
43. Joseph Gorder
> Most recent annual compensation: $18.8 million
> Company: Valero Energy
> Revenue: $88.4 billion
> Number of employees: 10,015
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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41. David Cordani
> Most recent annual compensation: $18.9 million
> Company: Cigna
> Revenue: $41.6 billion
> Number of employees: 46,000
40. Dion Weisler
> Most recent annual compensation: $19.2 million
> Company: HP
> Revenue: $52.1 billion
> Number of employees: 49,000
39. Darius Adamczyk
> Most recent annual compensation: $19.2 million
> Company: Honeywell International
> Revenue: $40.5 billion
> Number of employees: 131,000
38. Greg Garland
> Most recent annual compensation: $19.3 million
> Company: Phillips 66
> Revenue: $91.6 billion
> Number of employees: 14,600
37. I. Read
> Most recent annual compensation: $19.5 million (stepped down)
> Company: Pfizer
> Revenue: $52.5 billion
> Number of employees: 90,200
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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35. Steve MollenKopf
> Most recent annual compensation: $20.0 million
> Company: Qualcomm
> Revenue: $22.9 billion
> Number of employees: 33,800
34. M.K. Wirth
> Most recent annual compensation: $20.6 million
> Company: Chevron
> Revenue: $134.5 billion
> Number of employees: 51,900
33. David Solomon
> Most recent annual compensation: $20.7 million
> Company: Goldman Sachs Group
> Revenue: $42.3 billion
> Number of employees: 36,600
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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31. Brian Duperreault
> Most recent annual compensation: $20.9 million
> Company: AIG
> Revenue: $49.5 billion
> Number of employees: 49,800
30. Kenneth Frazier
> Most recent annual compensation: $20.9 million
> Company: Merck
> Revenue: $40.1 billion
> Number of employees: 69,000
29. Richard Gonzalez
> Most recent annual compensation: $21.3 million
> Company: AbbVie
> Revenue: $28.2 billion
> Number of employees: 29,000
28. Charles Robbins
> Most recent annual compensation: $21.3 million
> Company: Cisco Systems
> Revenue: $48.0 billion
> Number of employees: 72,900
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
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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25. Mary Barra
> Most recent annual compensation: $21.9 million
> Company: General Motors
> Revenue: $157.3 billion
> Number of employees: 180,000
24. Mark Sutton
> Most recent annual compensation: $21.9 million
> Company: International Paper
> Revenue: $23.3 billion
> Number of employees: 56,000
23. Larry Merlo
> Most recent annual compensation: $21.9 million
> Company: CVS Health
> Revenue: $184.8 billion
> Number of employees: 203,000
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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19. Mark Zuckerberg
> Most recent annual compensation: $22.6 million
> Company: Facebook
> Revenue: $40.7 billion
> Number of employees: 25,105
18. Brian Moynihan
> Most recent annual compensation: $22.8 million
> Company: Bank of America Corp.
> Revenue: $100.3 billion
> Number of employees: 209,376
17. C. Douglas McMillon
> Most recent annual compensation: $22.8 million
> Company: Walmart
> Revenue: $500.3 billion
> Number of employees: 2,300,000
16. Dennis Muilenburg
> Most recent annual compensation: $23.4 million
> Company: Boeing
> Revenue: $93.4 billion
> Number of employees: 140,800
15. R.M. Lance
> Most recent annual compensation: $23.4 million
> Company: ConocoPhillips
> Revenue: $32.6 billion
> Number of employees: 11,400
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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13. Wesley Bush
> Most recent annual compensation: $24.2 million (stepped down)
> Company: Northrop Grumman
> Revenue: $25.8 billion
> Number of employees: 70,000
12. Miles White
> Most recent annual compensation: $24.3 million
> Company: Abbott Laboratories
> Revenue: $27.4 billion
> Number of employees: 99,000
11. Indra Nooyi
> Most recent annual compensation: $24.5 million (stepped down)
> Company: PepsiCo
> Revenue: $62.8 billion
> Number of employees: 263,000
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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9. John Milligan
> Most recent annual compensation: $26.0 million (stepped down)
> Company: Gilead Sciences
> Revenue: $26.1 billion
> Number of employees: 10,000
8. Michael Neidorff
> Most recent annual compensation: $26.1 million
> Company: Centene
> Revenue: $48.6 billion
> Number of employees: 33,700
7. James Gorman
> Most recent annual compensation: $28.2 million
> Company: Morgan Stanley
> Revenue: $43.6 billion
> Number of employees: 57,633
6. R. Stephenson
> Most recent annual compensation: $29.1 million
> Company: AT&T
> Revenue: $160.5 billion
> Number of employees: 254,000
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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4. Brian Roberts
> Most recent annual compensation: $32.5 million
> Company: Comcast
> Revenue: $84.5 billion
> Number of employees: 164,000
3. Robert Iger
> Most recent annual compensation: $65.6 million
> Company: Disney
> Revenue: $55.1 billion
> Number of employees: 199,000
2. Safra Catz
> Most recent annual compensation: $108.3 million (tie)
> Company: Oracle
> Revenue: $37.7 billion
> Number of employees: 138,000
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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