Top 10 highest-paid CEOs of S&P 500: Two Indian-origin leaders make the list

Furthermore, the CEO’s pay in S&P 500 companies has increased 6 per cent compared to the previous year—that is an average of $17.7 million in total compensation, AFL-CIO highlights.

AFL-CIO reported that the CEO’s pay has increased by .2 million over the past decade at the S&P 500 index company.

With the economy demonstrating remarkable resilience—supporting strong profits and enhancing stock prices—CEOs were rewarded for their performance, resulting in increased compensation, with around two dozen CEOs receiving pay increases of 50% or more in the AP’s annual survey.

Top 10 highest-paid CEOs at S&P 500 companies FY 2023:

Earlier this year, AP survey conducted a CEO compensation study that ranked the highest-paid CEOs, which included pay data for 341 executives from S&P 500 companies, who served for at least two consecutive fiscal years.

Table Source: Equilar

Note: The list is of the highest-paid CEOs at S&P 500 companies in FY23, with the data as per companies’ proxy statements submitted from January 2024 to April 2024.

*The S&P 500 is a stock market index that measures the stock performance of 500 of the largest publicly traded companies in the United States.*

Key highlights:

Notably, Tan is the highest-paid CEO with a package valued at about $162 million in 2023. (Source: Bloomberg)

Broadcom’s CEO, Hock Tan, had a $162 million pay package and $160.5 million in stock awards for the 2023 fiscal year. Like its rival Nvidia, the company is experiencing a surge in artificial intelligence with its chips used by various businesses and public entities.

Under Tan’s leadership, the company noted that the market value has increased from $3.8 billion in 2009 to $645 billion, and its total shareholder return has surpassed that of the S&P 500.

Chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks Nikesh Arora, is the second-highest-paid executive, in 2023. (Express photo by Tashi Tobgyal/File)

Following Tan, is Nikesh Arora, an Indian-origin chief executive, who has risen to the second spot as the highest-paid CEOs list in 2023, with a pay cheque of $151.43 million (around Rs 1,257 crore) in 2023. 

With a career that includes several high-profile roles in the tech and financial sectors, the company has defended its compensation by stating that the executive has demonstrated a “strong performance.”

The Board noted, “Given Mr. Arora’s substantial vested ownership and the projected vesting amount over the next several years, we determined that a significant equity award was necessary to retain and engage Mr. Arora.”

Another Indian-origin individual on the list is the renowned CEO and Chairman of Microsoft Corp, Satya Nadella. (file)

Since assuming the role in 2014, Nadella has enhanced Microsoft’s database, Windows Server, and developer tools by integrating them with the Azure cloud.

Other CEOs at the top of AP’s survey are William Lansing of Fair Isaac Corp, ($66.3 million); Tim Cook of Apple Inc. ($63.2 million); Hamid Moghadam of Prologis Inc. ($50.9 million); and Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix ($49.8 million).

An Outlook on Women CEOs:

The AP survey indicated that while more women participated than in previous years, their representation in executive positions remains low compared to that of their male counterparts, as out of the 341 CEOs surveyed, only 25 were women.

However, on the positive side, the median pay package for women CEOs increased by 21% to $17.6 million.

Lisa Su, the CEO and chair of the board at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). (Source: LinkedIn)

Su is the highest-paid female CEO for the fifth consecutive year in fiscal 2023, with a compensation package valued at $30.3 million.

Other top-paid female CEOs include Mary Barra of General Motors, Jane Fraser of Citigroup, Kathy Warden of Northrop Grumman Corp., and Carol Tomé of UPS Inc.