In the U.S., the median worker's salary for the third quarter of 2024 was $1,165 per week or $60,580 per year. By contrast, the country's 10 highest-paid chief executive officers (CEOs) can earn far more in one minute than the average worker earns in a week. The CEO at the top of the list, Elon Musk, was paid over $11,000 for every minute of the 40-hour workweek in 2023.

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Top 10

The top 10 highest-paid CEOs

The table below highlights 10 highly compensated CEOs (based on 2023 earnings), where they work, and how much they were paid. The table cites compensation actually paid, which the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) now requires companies to disclose. The number is intended to represent total compensation, including defined pension benefits and the actual value of stock awards.

Data source: C-Suite Comp. Totals reflect 2023 compensation.
Name Company (Ticker) Compensation Actually Paid (2023)
Elon Musk Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) $1.403 billion
Alexander Karp Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR) $1.099 billion
Hock E. Tan Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) $767 million
Brian Armstrong Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) $680 million
Safra A. Catz Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) $304 million
Brian Chesky Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) $303 million
Jon Winkelried TPG (NASDAQ:TPG) $295 million
Jeff T. Green The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) $291 million
Adam Foroughi Applovin (NASDAQ:APP) $271 million
Nikesh Arora Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) $266 million

1. Elon Musk: $1.4 billion

Musk is the CEO of electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla and space flight company SpaceX. He also owns X, formerly known as Twitter. Musk's 2023 compensation from Tesla totaled more than $1 billion.

Musk has been a top-earning U.S. executive for several years, even though he does not collect a salary from Tesla. Instead, he earns stock options when the company reaches certain market capitalization and growth milestones. The options allow Musk to buy Tesla stock for $23.33 per share, a huge discount from the company's fourth-quarter 2024 stock price of about $250.

Musk's options package has faced controversy. In 2024, a Delaware judge ruled the compensation plan illegal and unfair to Tesla shareholders. A few months after the ruling, however, shareholders voted in favor of re-ratifying the package. The performance-based arrangement has been a sweet deal for Musk, whose net worth of $269 billion earns him the title of the world's richest man.

2. Alexander Karp: $1.1 billion

Karp runs Palantir Technologies, which makes artificial intelligence (AI)-powered data analytics software. Unconfirmed reports say the company's Gotham platform played a role in finding Osama bin Laden in 2011.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is the use of machines to mimic human intelligence.

Today, Palantir has diversified beyond defense and anti-terrorism to serve customers in a range of industries, including retail, telecommunications, automotive, and healthcare. Karp's net worth is an estimated $4.9 billion.

3. Hock E. Tan: $767 million

Tan has been the president and CEO of the semiconductor company Broadcom since 2006. Helped by the AI infrastructure buildout, Broadcom has dramatically increased its value in recent years. The company was worth $245 billion in early 2023 and more than $800 billion by the latter half of 2024.

Tan's reported compensation in 2023 was $161 million, consisting of a $1.2 million salary plus a $160.5 million stock award. The higher $767 million amount for compensation actually paid results from adjustments to account for the fair value of the stock awards.

4. Brian Armstrong: $680 million

Armstrong is the co-founder and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange service Coinbase. Coinbase went public in 2021 and reached its peak stock price in the same year. In 2024, the stock trades at about 34% below that peak. Armstrong also founded the nonprofit Givecrypto.org in 2018 and has signed the Giving Pledge, a commitment to distribute most of his wealth to charitable organizations.

5. Safra A. Catz: $304 million

Catz stepped in as CEO of software company Oracle in 2014 after co-founder Larry Ellison resigned from the role. According to SEC filings, Catz has earned a base salary of $950,000 since 2012.

In the fiscal year ending May 31, 2024, Catz also received a cash bonus of $5.2 million. The rest of her compensation consists primarily of equity awards under a plan that has been in place since fiscal 2018. The plan vests stock options when the company meets market capitalization and operational targets.

6. Brian Chesky: $303 million

Chesky is Airbnb's co-founder and CEO. In 2023, he earned an annual salary of $1 plus $295,125 in miscellaneous compensation. The rest of his earnings relate to changes in the value of vested and unvested equity awards.

Chesky's personal net worth is estimated at $9.4 billion. Like Armstrong, Chesky has signed the Giving Pledge, committing to donate the net proceeds of his CEO pay to charitable causes.

7. Jon Winkelried: $295 million

Winkelried has been the CEO of private equity firm TPG since 2015. The company went public in 2022 and has since more than doubled its stock price under Winkelried's leadership.

Winkelried earned a salary of $509,615 in 2023, plus stock awards of $189 million and other compensation of $13 million. The remaining $100 million or so comes from the value-related adjustments required to calculate the compensation actually paid.

8. Jeff T. Green: $291 million

Green founded the digital advertising firm The Trade Desk in 2009 and took the company public in 2016. Adjusting for a split in 2021, The Trade Desk stock traded below $5 in its early days. It is now priced above $100. Green earned a salary of $1 million in 2023 plus $4.7 million in nonequity incentive compensation. Options and stock awards comprise the remaining value in his compensation package.

Green's net worth is estimated to be $6.5 billion. As with other executives on this list, he has committed via the Giving Pledge to donate 90% of his wealth during his lifetime or at his death.

9. Adam Foroughi: $271 million

Foroughi is the co-founder and CEO of mobile game maker AppLovin. He funded the company himself between 2011 and 2018 before receiving $400 million in capital from private equity firm KKR (KKR 1.03%). AppLovin went public in 2021 and has more than doubled in value since.

Foroughi's 2023 salary was $400,000, so he earns the bulk of his pay from equity awards. His estimated net worth is $5.2 billion.

10. Nikesh Arora: $266 million

Arora has been chairman and CEO of cybersecurity provider Palo Alto Networks since mid-2018. Under his leadership, the company has increased its value by more than 400%.

Arora's salary for the fiscal year ending in July 2024 was $1 million. He also earned $1.2 million in nonequity incentive plan compensation and $1.6 million in other compensation. As with most of the highly paid CEOs on this list, equity awards comprise the bulk of his pay package.

Female CEOs & Black CEOs

Highly paid female CEOs and black CEOs

The list above does not reflect much diversity. Only one woman is included, and no Black CEOs are among the country's highest-paid corporate leadership.

Women CEOs

Fortunately, there is broader representation outside the top 10. Top women executives include Sue Nabi, CEO of Coty (COTY -2.96%), Shao-Lee Lin, CEO of Acelryin (SLRN 3.4%), and Michelle Gass, CEO of Levi Strauss (LEVI 0.27%).

Black CEOs

Highly paid Black CEOs include Christopher C. Womack, CEO of The Southern Company (SO -1.38%), Marvin Ellison, CEO of Lowe's (LOW -0.34%), and Rosalind Brewer, CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA -0.51%).

Related investing topics

Nonprofit CEOs

Highly paid nonprofit CEOs

In the nonprofit sector, well-compensated CEOs don't make hundreds of millions -- but some bring home several million annually. Among that elite group are:

  1. Jay Monahan, commissioner of the PGA Tour: Monahan earned a $14.9 million salary plus $3.6 million in other compensation in 2022.
  2. Gregory Adams, CEO of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan: Adams brought home a salary of $13.8 million in 2022.
  3. Rod Hochman, president and CEO of Providence St. Joseph Health: Hochman was paid a salary of $11.2 million plus other compensation of nearly $1 million in 2022.

There are also highly paid female CEOs in the nonprofit sector. Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association, earned $4 million in fiscal year 2023, including almost $3 million in bonus and incentive compensation. Laurie Glimcher, president and chief executive of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, earned $2.3 million during the same period.

Catherine Brock has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Airbnb, Coinbase Global, KKR, Oracle, Palantir Technologies, Palo Alto Networks, Tesla, and The Trade Desk. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and Lowe's Companies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.