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.

Courtesy of Cardinal Health

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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Courtesy of US Foods Holding

100. Pietro Satriano
> Most recent annual compensation: $8.6 million
> Company: US Foods Holding
> Revenue: $24.1 billion
> Number of employees: 25,204

Courtesy of Sysco

99. Thomas Bené
> Most recent annual compensation: $8.8 million
> Company: Sysco
> Revenue: $55.4 billion
> Number of employees: 45,900

Mike Coppola / Getty Images

99. Mark Parker
> Most recent annual compensation: $9.5 million
> Company: Nike
> Revenue: $34.4 billion
> Number of employees: 74,400

Photo by Drew Angerer / Getty Images

98. Tom Hayes
> Most recent annual compensation: $9.5 million (stepped down)
> Company: Tyson Foods
> Revenue: $38.3 billion
> Number of employees: 114,000

Courtesy of Prudential Financial

97. Charles Lowrey
> Most recent annual compensation: $10.4 million
> Company: Prudential Financial
> Revenue: $59.7 billion
> Number of employees: 49,705

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

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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Courtesy of WCU

95. Todd Vasos
> Most recent annual compensation: $10.6 million
> Company: Dollar General
> Revenue: $23.5 billion
> Number of employees: 129,000

Courtesy of Home Depot

94. Craig Menear
> Most recent annual compensation: $11.4 million
> Company: Home Depot
> Revenue: $100.9 billion
> Number of employees: 413,000

Courtesy of AmerisourceBergen

93. Steven Collis
> Most recent annual compensation: $11.5 million
> Company: AmerisourceBergen
> Revenue: $153.1 billion
> Number of employees: 19,500

Neilson Barnard / Getty Images

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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Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

91. W. Douglas Parker
> Most recent annual compensation: $12.2 million
> Company: American Airlines Group
> Revenue: $42.2 billion
> Number of employees: 126,600

Courtesy of Hewlett Packard Enterprise via Facebook

90. Antonio Neri
> Most recent annual compensation: $12.6 million
> Company: Hewlett Packard Enterprise
> Revenue: $28.9 billion
> Number of employees: 66,000

C Flanigan / Getty Images

89. Jeff Gennette
> Most recent annual compensation: $12.7 million
> Company: Macy’s
> Revenue: $24.8 billion
> Number of employees: 148,300

Courtesy of 3M

88. Michael Roman
> Most recent annual compensation: $12.9 million
> Company: 3M
> Revenue: $31.7 billion
> Number of employees: 91,536

Ramin Talaie / Getty Images

87. Arne Sorenson
> Most recent annual compensation: $12.9 million
> Company: Marriott International
> Revenue: $22.9 billion
> Number of employees: 177,000

Courtesy of Southern Company

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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Photo by Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

85. Edward Bastian
> Most recent annual compensation: $13.2 million
> Company: Delta Air Lines
> Revenue: $41.2 billion
> Number of employees: 86,564

Stephen Brashear / Getty Images

84. Kevin Johnson
> Most recent annual compensation: $13.4 million
> Company: Starbucks
> Revenue: $22.4 billion
> Number of employees: 277,000

Courtesy of U.S. Bank

83. Andrew Cecere
> Most recent annual compensation: $13.4 million
> Company: U.S. Bancorp
> Revenue: $24.0 billion
> Number of employees: 72,402

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

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

Photo by Scott Halleran / Getty Images for KPMG

80. Lynn Good
> Most recent annual compensation: $14.0 million
> Company: Duke Energy
> Revenue: $23.2 billion
> Number of employees: 29,060

Courtesy of Caterpillar

79. Jim Umpleby
> Most recent annual compensation: $14.0 million
> Company: Caterpillar
> Revenue: $45.6 billion
> Number of employees: 98,400

Courtesy of Progressive

78. Susan Patricia Griffith
> Most recent annual compensation: $14.2 million
> Company: Progressive
> Revenue: $26.8 billion
> Number of employees: 33,656

Nicholas Hunt / Getty Images

77. Gail Boudreaux
> Most recent annual compensation: $14.2 million
> Company: Anthem
> Revenue: $90.0 billion
> Number of employees: 56,000

Pool / Getty Images

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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Courtesy of Travelers

75. Alan Schnitzer
> Most recent annual compensation: $14.6 million
> Company: Travelers Cos.
> Revenue: $28.9 billion
> Number of employees: 30,800

Courtesy of MetLife

74. Steven Kandarian
> Most recent annual compensation: $14.7 million
> Company: MetLife
> Revenue: $66.2 billion
> Number of employees: 49,000

Courtesy of Mondelēz International

73. Dirk Van de Put
> Most recent annual compensation: $15.0 million
> Company: Mondelez International
> Revenue: $25.9 billion
> Number of employees: 90,000

gageskidmore / Flickr

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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Courtesy of Arrow Electronics

71. Michael Long
> Most recent annual compensation: $15.3 million
> Company: Arrow Electronics
> Revenue: $26.8 billion
> Number of employees: 18,800

Courtesy of Exelon

70. Christopher Crane
> Most recent annual compensation: $15.6 million
> Company: Exelon
> Revenue: $33.5 billion
> Number of employees: 34,621

Stephanie Keith / Getty Images

69. Tim Cook
> Most recent annual compensation: $15.7 million
> Company: Apple
> Revenue: $229.2 billion
> Number of employees: 123,000

Drew Angerer / Getty Images

68. Stephen Easterbrook
> Most recent annual compensation: $15.9 million
> Company: McDonald’s
> Revenue: $22.8 billion
> Number of employees: 375,000

Courtesy of Express Scripts Holding

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

Courtesy of Philip Morris International

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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Courtesy of Humana

65. Bruce D. Broussard
> Most recent annual compensation: $16.3 million
> Company: Humana
> Revenue: $53.8 billion
> Number of employees: 45,900

Courtesy of Raytheon

64. Thomas Kennedy
> Most recent annual compensation: $16.3 million
> Company: Raytheon
> Revenue: $25.3 billion
> Number of employees: 64,000

Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images

63. James Quincey
> Most recent annual compensation: $16.4 million
> Company: Coca-Cola
> Revenue: $35.4 billion
> Number of employees: 61,800

Courtesy of General Electric

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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Courtesy of Intel

61. Robert Swan
> Most recent annual compensation: $16.7 million
> Company: Intel
> Revenue: $62.8 billion
> Number of employees: 102,700

Best Buy Co., Inc. / Wikimedia Commons

60. Hubert Joly
> Most recent annual compensation: $16.8 million
> Company: Best Buy
> Revenue: $42.2 billion
> Number of employees: 125,000

Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images

59. Ernie Herrman
> Most recent annual compensation: $16.9 million
> Company: TJX
> Revenue: $35.9 billion
> Number of employees: 235,000

Courtesy of Eli Lilly

58. David Ricks
> Most recent annual compensation: $17.2 million
> Company: Eli Lilly
> Revenue: $22.9 billion
> Number of employees: 40,655

Photo by Shaun Heasley / Getty Images

57. Richard Fairbank
> Most recent annual compensation: $17.3 million
> Company: Capital One Financial
> Revenue: $30.0 billion
> Number of employees: 49,300

Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images

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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Courtesy of Procter & Gamble

55. David Taylor
> Most recent annual compensation: $17.4 million
> Company: Procter & Gamble
> Revenue: $66.2 billion
> Number of employees: 95,000

Courtesy of UnitedHealth

54. David Wichmann
> Most recent annual compensation: $17.4 million
> Company: UnitedHealth Group
> Revenue: $201.2 billion
> Number of employees: 260,000

Paul Morigi / Getty Images

53. V.M. Rometty
> Most recent annual compensation: $17.6 million
> Company: IBM
> Revenue: $79.1 billion
> Number of employees: 366,000

Riccardo Savi / Getty Images

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

Courtesy of General Electric

50. John Hammergren
> Most recent annual compensation: $18.1 million (stepped down)
> Company: McKesson
> Revenue: $198.5 billion
> Number of employees: 64,500

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49. Alex Gorsky
> Most recent annual compensation: $18.2 million
> Company: Johnson & Johnson
> Revenue: $76.5 billion
> Number of employees: 134,000

Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images

48. Timothy Sloan
> Most recent annual compensation: $18.4 million (stepped down)
> Company: Wells Fargo
> Revenue: $97.7 billion
> Number of employees: 262,700

Premier.gov.ru / Wikimedia Commons

47. Samuel Allen
> Most recent annual compensation: $18.5 million
> Company: Deere
> Revenue: $29.7 billion
> Number of employees: 60,476

Christopher Polk / Getty Images

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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Photo by Daniel Boczarski / Getty Images

45. Thomas Wilson
> Most recent annual compensation: $18.7 million
> Company: Allstate
> Revenue: $38.5 billion
> Number of employees: 42,680

Cindy Ord / Getty Images

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

Courtesy of Valero

43. Joseph Gorder
> Most recent annual compensation: $18.8 million
> Company: Valero Energy
> Revenue: $88.4 billion
> Number of employees: 10,015

Mark Schiefelbein / Pool / Getty Images

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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Cigna Corporation / Wikimedia Commons

41. David Cordani
> Most recent annual compensation: $18.9 million
> Company: Cigna
> Revenue: $41.6 billion
> Number of employees: 46,000

Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images

40. Dion Weisler
> Most recent annual compensation: $19.2 million
> Company: HP
> Revenue: $52.1 billion
> Number of employees: 49,000

Photo by Jeff Zelevansky / Wikimedia Commons

39. Darius Adamczyk
> Most recent annual compensation: $19.2 million
> Company: Honeywell International
> Revenue: $40.5 billion
> Number of employees: 131,000

Courtesy of Phillips 66

38. Greg Garland
> Most recent annual compensation: $19.3 million
> Company: Phillips 66
> Revenue: $91.6 billion
> Number of employees: 14,600

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

37. I. Read
> Most recent annual compensation: $19.5 million (stepped down)
> Company: Pfizer
> Revenue: $52.5 billion
> Number of employees: 90,200

Courtesy of Archer Daniels Midland

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

Courtesy of Chevron

34. M.K. Wirth
> Most recent annual compensation: $20.6 million
> Company: Chevron
> Revenue: $134.5 billion
> Number of employees: 51,900

Paul Morigi / Getty Images

33. David Solomon
> Most recent annual compensation: $20.7 million
> Company: Goldman Sachs Group
> Revenue: $42.3 billion
> Number of employees: 36,600

Paul Morigi / Getty Images

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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Starkjames / Wikimedia Commons

31. Brian Duperreault
> Most recent annual compensation: $20.9 million
> Company: AIG
> Revenue: $49.5 billion
> Number of employees: 49,800

Spencer Platt / Getty Images

30. Kenneth Frazier
> Most recent annual compensation: $20.9 million
> Company: Merck
> Revenue: $40.1 billion
> Number of employees: 69,000

Photo by Win McNamee / Getty Images

29. Richard Gonzalez
> Most recent annual compensation: $21.3 million
> Company: AbbVie
> Revenue: $28.2 billion
> Number of employees: 29,000

Courtesy of Cisco

28. Charles Robbins
> Most recent annual compensation: $21.3 million
> Company: Cisco Systems
> Revenue: $48.0 billion
> Number of employees: 72,900

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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

Paul Morigi / Getty Images

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

Courtesy of International Paper

24. Mark Sutton
> Most recent annual compensation: $21.9 million
> Company: International Paper
> Revenue: $23.3 billion
> Number of employees: 56,000

Courtesy of CVS

23. Larry Merlo
> Most recent annual compensation: $21.9 million
> Company: CVS Health
> Revenue: $184.8 billion
> Number of employees: 203,000

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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

Alex Wong / Getty Images

18. Brian Moynihan
> Most recent annual compensation: $22.8 million
> Company: Bank of America Corp.
> Revenue: $100.3 billion
> Number of employees: 209,376

Paras Griffin / Getty Images

17. C. Douglas McMillon
> Most recent annual compensation: $22.8 million
> Company: Walmart
> Revenue: $500.3 billion
> Number of employees: 2,300,000

Stephen Brashear / Getty Images

16. Dennis Muilenburg
> Most recent annual compensation: $23.4 million
> Company: Boeing
> Revenue: $93.4 billion
> Number of employees: 140,800

Courtesy of ConocoPhillips

15. R.M. Lance
> Most recent annual compensation: $23.4 million
> Company: ConocoPhillips
> Revenue: $32.6 billion
> Number of employees: 11,400

Alex Wroblewski / Getty Images

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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Courtesy of Northrop Grumman

13. Wesley Bush
> Most recent annual compensation: $24.2 million (stepped down)
> Company: Northrop Grumman
> Revenue: $25.8 billion
> Number of employees: 70,000

Photo by Scott Olson / Getty Images

12. Miles White
> Most recent annual compensation: $24.3 million
> Company: Abbott Laboratories
> Revenue: $27.4 billion
> Number of employees: 99,000

Paul Morigi / Getty Images

11. Indra Nooyi
> Most recent annual compensation: $24.5 million (stepped down)
> Company: PepsiCo
> Revenue: $62.8 billion
> Number of employees: 263,000

Stephen Brashear / Getty Images

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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Courtesy of Gilead

9. John Milligan
> Most recent annual compensation: $26.0 million (stepped down)
> Company: Gilead Sciences
> Revenue: $26.1 billion
> Number of employees: 10,000

thejointstaff / Flickr

8. Michael Neidorff
> Most recent annual compensation: $26.1 million
> Company: Centene
> Revenue: $48.6 billion
> Number of employees: 33,700

Photo by Andrew Burton / Getty Images

7. James Gorman
> Most recent annual compensation: $28.2 million
> Company: Morgan Stanley
> Revenue: $43.6 billion
> Number of employees: 57,633

Win McNamee / Getty Images

6. R. Stephenson
> Most recent annual compensation: $29.1 million
> Company: AT&T
> Revenue: $160.5 billion
> Number of employees: 254,000

Scott Olson / Getty Images

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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Ethan Miller / Getty Images

4. Brian Roberts
> Most recent annual compensation: $32.5 million
> Company: Comcast
> Revenue: $84.5 billion
> Number of employees: 164,000

Kimberly White / Getty Images

3. Robert Iger
> Most recent annual compensation: $65.6 million
> Company: Disney
> Revenue: $55.1 billion
> Number of employees: 199,000

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2. Safra Catz
> Most recent annual compensation: $108.3 million (tie)
> Company: Oracle
> Revenue: $37.7 billion
> Number of employees: 138,000

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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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