Median compensation for CEOs in the S&P 500 reached $171 million in 2024, according to research by Equilar and the Associated Press -- an increase of about 10% from 2023. Meanwhile, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the median American worker has weekly earnings of $1,194 -- which translates to a median salary of $62,088, assuming workers are paid for 52 weeks of labor.
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.
One common thread among the top 10 highest-paid CEOs: They often earn modest salary -- or sometimes no salary at all. The bulk of their compensation comes from equity awards.
Name | Company (Ticker) | Compensation Actually Paid (2024) |
|---|---|---|
Elon Musk | Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) | $1.403 billion |
Alexander Karp | Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR) | $1.099 billion |
Hock E. Tan | Broadcom (NYSE:AVGO) | $767 million |
Brian Armstrong | Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) | $680 million |
Safra 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, Tesla: $1.4 billion
Elon Musk is the CEO of electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla (TSLA +2.27%) 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. That's a huge discount from the company's share prices, which have fluctuated between the mid-$200s to over $400 in the first half of 2025.
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. Tesla's board has since appointed a two-person special committee to review Musk's compensation.
Forbes reported that Musk's net worth exceeded $400 billion as of mid-2025.
2. Alexander Karp, Palantir Technologies: $1.1 billion
Karp runs Palantir Technologies (PLTR +2.84%), 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.
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 $12.1 billion.
Artificial Intelligence
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:
- Selwyn Vickers, president/CEO of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Vickers earned more than $5.7 million, including a bonus and incentive compensation of over $2.4 million, in fiscal 2023.
- Robert Stone, CEO of City of Hope & Affiliates. Stone earned nearly $4.6 million, including a bonus and incentive compensation of more than $2.2 million, in fiscal 2023.
- Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association. Brown earned almost $4.4 million, including almost $3.2 million from a bonus and incentive compensation, for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2024.
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