The Rich Compensation for Being the C.E.O.

Beating Wall Street's profit expectations is hard enough. Chief executives of major U.S. companies must also deal with issues like tariffs, climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion, with the Trump administration constantly changing the rules of the game.
Being C.E.O. is a tough gig, no question. But the pay? It's fabulous.
And it's so much better than what the rank-and-file will ever get. These days, it's particularly lucrative to be the C.E.O. of a company with government security ties, corporate executive compensation filings show.
Take Alex Karp. He's the chief executive of Palantir Technologies, a data analysis and technology firm that has been in the news for helping the Trump administration collect and compile personal information on millions of Americans. Palantir also works for the U.S. military, police forces and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as many other corporations.
Palantir disclosed that Mr. Karp received $6.8 billion in 'compensation actually paid' in 2024, a figure bolstered by Palantir's soaring share price, which last year swelled the value of the stock and options awarded to him.
That windfall made Mr. Karp the highest-paid chief executive of a publicly traded company in the United States last year, according to a survey done for The New York Times by the executive compensation research firm Equilar of all corporate filings through May.
'Compensation actually paid' is one of two major ways of accounting for chief executive pay required under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. It emphasizes the annual changes in the value of an executive's current and potential stock holdings and reveals the staggering gains of executives, often company founders, who have been granted substantial stakes in their enterprises.
Top 10 Highest-Paid C.E.O.s by 'Compensation Actually Paid'
The newer accounting measure emphasizes the annual changes in the value of an executive's current and potential stock holdings.
Source: Equilar
By The New York Times
C.E.O. Pay on the Rise
Chief executive pay increased last year, and the disparity with what employees are paid is the highest since companies began reporting this measure.
Median chief executive pay
$35
million
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
'17
'18
'19
'20
'21
'22
'23
'24
Median chief executive pay ratio
Last year chief executive pay was almost 350 times that of their employees.
350
340
330
320
310
300
290
'17
'18
'19
'20
'21
'22
'23
'24
Median chief executive pay
Median chief executive pay ratio
Last year chief executive
pay was 348 times that
of their employees.
$35
million
350
30
340
25
330
20
320
15
310
10
300
5
290
0
'17
'18
'19
'20
'21
'22
'23
'24
'17
'18
'19
'20
'21
'22
'23
'24
Note: Equilar did not produce a study in 2020 for pay in 2019.
Source: Equilar Inc.
By Karl Russell
Top 15 Highest-Paid C.E.Os by Classic Compensation Accounting
Publicly traded U.S. companies must disclose top executives' salaries, the value of newly granted stock and options and perks like personal security guards or corporate jets.
Source: Equilar
By The New York Times
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