Published April 14, 2026 · Updated annually
Highest Paid CEOs in 2026: Full List
The median CEO compensation in our dataset is approximately $30.4M, and the highest-paid executives earn multiples of that. Using SEC DEF 14A proxy filings for 34 companies with a real disclosed CEO total, here are the highest-paid CEOs, ranked by the SEC-disclosed headline total compensation.
Highest-Paid CEOs by SEC-Disclosed Total Compensation
Total compensation is the headline “Total” line of the Summary Compensation Table — base salary, stock awards, option awards, non-equity incentive plan compensation, pension change, and other benefits — as reported in each company's SEC DEF 14A proxy statement (iXBRL tag ecd:PeoTotalCompAmt). We report the disclosed total only and never estimate it.
| Rank | Executive | Company | Total Comp |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hock Tan | Broadcom | $205.3M |
| 2 | Satya Nadella | Microsoft | $96.5M |
| 3 | Tim Cook | Apple | $74.3M |
| 4 | Ted Sarandos | Netflix | $53.9M |
| 5 | Chuck Robbins | Cisco Systems | $52.8M |
| 6 | Shantanu Narayen | Adobe | $51.2M |
| 7 | Marc Benioff | Salesforce | $49.4M |
| 8 | Bob Iger | Walt Disney | $45.8M |
| 9 | Jamie Dimon | JPMorgan Chase | $40.6M |
| 10 | Arvind Krishna | IBM | $38.0M |
| 11 | David Ricks | Eli Lilly | $36.7M |
| 12 | Jensen Huang | NVIDIA | $36.3M |
| 13 | Brian Moynihan | Bank of America | $33.7M |
| 14 | Darren Woods | ExxonMobil | $33.0M |
| 15 | James Quincey | Coca-Cola | $31.2M |
| 16 | Hans Vestberg | Verizon | $31.2M |
| 17 | Brian Niccol | Starbucks | $31.0M |
| 18 | John Stankey | AT&T | $29.9M |
| 19 | Mary Barra | General Motors | $29.9M |
| 20 | Doug McMillon | Walmart | $29.2M |
| 21 | Albert Bourla | Pfizer | $27.6M |
| 22 | Jim Farley | Ford Motor | $27.5M |
| 23 | Mike Wirth | Chevron | $26.8M |
| 24 | Carl Eschenbach | Workday | $26.0M |
| 25 | Elliott Hill | Nike | $26.0M |
What the Total Compensation Figure Includes
A high total is not the same as realized pay. The SEC Summary Compensation Table reports stock and option awards at grant-date fair value under FASB ASC 718 — the board-approved value at grant, not what the executive ultimately banked. Realized pay can be higher or lower depending on share-price movement and is reported separately in the same proxy.
We report the disclosed headline “Total” only. The per-line-item split into salary, bonus, stock, options, pension, and other compensation is disclosed inside each company's proxy and is not reproduced or estimated on our pages.
The Compensation Arms Race
CEO pay has grown dramatically relative to worker wages over the past four decades, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The primary driver is stock-based compensation, which accounts for 60-80% of total CEO pay at most large companies.
Boards argue that stock-based pay aligns CEO incentives with shareholder interests. Critics counter that stock options reward market conditions as much as executive performance, and that the peer benchmarking process creates a ratchet effect where each new pay package must exceed the industry median.
Explore individual company profiles on our full ranking page to see the disclosed total, the multi-year history, and a link to the source DEF 14A for any covered CEO.
Frequently Asked Questions
CEO compensation varies year to year based on stock vesting schedules and one-time awards. Check the ranking table above for the current highest-paid executive based on the most recent SEC-disclosed proxy filings in our dataset.
Total CEO compensation is the SEC Summary Compensation Table "Total" — base salary, stock awards (value at grant date), option awards, non-equity incentive plans (cash bonuses), pension value changes, and other compensation. We report that disclosed headline figure (iXBRL ecd:PeoTotalCompAmt); the line-item split is in the proxy and is not reproduced here.
No. Every figure is the real SEC-disclosed total from a specific DEF 14A proxy statement. Companies without a real disclosed CEO total are not included, and we never estimate the figure.
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