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The New York Times recently published coverage of the Equilar 100 study, which features the largest pay packages awarded to CEOs at U.S. public companies during fiscal year 2022. Equilar and The New York Times have partnered for 16 years to uncover trends from pay packages awarded to CEOs across Corporate America. For the purposes of this study, Equilar examined the 100 largest CEO pay packages among U.S. public companies with revenues of at least $1 billion.
Chief executives are responsible for making strategic decisions, setting the vision and navigating their organizations towards their goals. As CEOs bear the responsibility for their companies’ performance and success, it comes as no surprise that they are habitually rewarded handsomely in the form of compensation—2022 was no different. Meanwhile, a new layer of complexity was added to the CEO compensation puzzle.
In August 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved new Pay Versus Performance (PvP) requirements that require public companies to disclose both tabular and narrative information reflecting the relationship between compensation actually paid (CAP) to a company’s named executive officers (NEOs) and the company’s financial performance. While the compensation figures featured in this study pertain to total disclosed compensation, which includes the grant date fair value of equity awards granted during the year, Equilar has also captured CAP figures from PvP proxy disclosures.
The introductory page of this feature highlights the top 10 highest-paid CEOs at Equilar 100 companies in 2022. Below the highest-paid CEO table, there is a link to view the full Equilar 100 in an interactive chart that allows you to sort by compensation, CAP, revenue and other company measurements. A summary of key highlights from the report follows on this page.
| COMPANY NAME
EXECUTIVE NAME |
TOTAL COMPENSATION | CHANGE IN PAY | 2022 CEO CAP | |||
| 1 |
|
$225,985,145 | 3474% | $115,820,786 | ||
| 2 |
|
$182,136,137 | N/A | $132,128,569 | ||
| 3 |
|
$168,073,420 | N/A | N/A | ||
| 4 |
|
$139,005,565 | 904% | $35,618,299 | ||
| 5 |
|
$122,651,735 | N/A | $153,878,150 | ||
| 6 |
|
$99,420,097 | 1% | N/A | ||
| 7 |
|
$85,035,380 | N/A | $133,850,217 | ||
| 8 |
|
$75,314,199 | N/A | $90,844,101 | ||
| 9 |
|
$60,606,971 | 0% | N/A | ||
| 10 |
|
$57,460,546 | N/A | $52,036,170 |
Key Trends and Takeaways
Median Pay Surpassed $30 Million. The median total compensation for Equilar 100 CEOs was $30.5 million in 2022, a 32% increase in pay for the same set of CEOs* in 2021. The highest-paid CEO on the list is Sunar Pichai of Alphabet, who was awarded a total compensation package of $226 million in 2022. The top five highest-paid CEOs were all awarded nine-figure pay packages.
Stock Award Values Saw Massive Surge. The primary driver behind the significant spike in compensation for Equilar 100 CEOs was the uptick in stock award values. In 2022, the median stock award for an Equilar 100 CEO was valued at $21.2 million—a 75.6% increase from $12.1 million in 2021.
However, it is worth noting that stock awards are traditionally awarded at the beginning of the year, and in 2022, economic conditions were much stronger to start the year. Supply chain issues and inflation dominated most of 2022, and the impacts were eventually felt across Corporate America. In 2022, the median total return of Equilar 100 companies was -17%. As a result, cash bonuses dropped in value by 16.4% from $4.6 million in 2021 to $3.8 million in 2022.
A First Glance at CAP Values. The median CAP value for Equilar 100 CEOs was $27.6 million in 2022—9.6% less than median total compensation. The goal of the CAP calculation is to capture the change in fair value of previously granted awards to NEOs, painting a clear picture of how much an executive has gained from equity awards over time. Pinterest recorded the highest CAP value for Equilar 100 companies this proxy season at $153.9 million for CEO William J. Ready. The smallest CAP figure belongs to Lisa T. Su of Advanced Micro Devices at -$160.1 million—indicating a substantial loss in value from equity awards.
Only Four Women Cracked the Top 100. Just four women made the Equilar 100 list, earning a median total compensation of $29.6 million in 2022—slightly less than the overall median of the Equilar 100. Julie Spellman Sweet of Accenture, whose total awarded pay package was $33.7 million in 2022, was the highest-paid woman on the list.
Equilar 100 Companies Boast Big Revenue Gains: The median change in revenue for Equilar 100 companies was 12% in 2022. Overall, the median revenue for all companies was $17.8 billion, with Walmart leading the way at over $611 billion.
*The figure excludes CEOs that did not serve in the same position in 2021.
Methodology Notes: The Equilar 100 includes the largest pay packages awarded to CEOs from U.S.-based or listed companies with more than $1 billion in revenue that filed proxy statements for fiscal year 2022 by May 1, 2023. The figures represent what was awarded to a CEO in fiscal year 2022, and include salary, cash bonuses, stock and options awards valued in their entirety as of the grant date (i.e. grant date fair value), and other compensation (including benefits and perks). These numbers exclude change in pension values and deferred compensation. While many of the companies in the Equilar 100 are consistent from year to year, due to changes in revenue the list is not the same every year.
Senior Director of Content at Equilar
Amit Batish, Senior Director of Content at Equilar, authored this post. Equilar Researchers, Andrew Gordon, Charlie Pontrelli and Courtney Yu, contributed the data and analysis for this study. For more information on Equilar research and data analysis, please contact Amit Batish, at abatish@equilar.com.
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