Updated April 2026 · SEC DEF 14A data
Highest Paid CEOs, 2024
The top 200 highest-paid CEOs at U.S. public companies, ranked by reported total compensation from the SEC Summary Compensation Table. The top 10 CEOs in this ranking average $33.9M in reported total compensation — roughly 2.8× the average for all U.S. public companies CEOPayWatch tracks ($12.2M). At this scale, base salary is a rounding error and the headline number is overwhelmingly equity-driven: stock awards under FASB ASC 718 grant-date fair value typically account for 60–80% of the package.
What These Numbers Show
CEO compensation in the United States has shifted decisively toward long-term equity over the past two decades. At the very top of this ranking, base salary rarely exceeds $1.5M — the rest of an eight- or nine-figure package is overwhelmingly stock awards (RSUs and PSUs), with annual cash incentives playing a supporting role and stock options now a minority of new grants. The structure is designed to align CEO wealth with shareholder return over multi-year vesting cycles, but it also produces sharp year-to-year volatility in reported pay when special grants vest or performance share units pay out at maximum.
The gap between the top 10 and the median is wider than most readers expect. The top 10 in this list average $33.9M while the cross-database average sits at $12.2M. The pattern is not new — the Economic Policy Institute has tracked the long-run divergence between CEO pay and median worker pay for decades — but the live SEC data on this page lets you see how it shows up at individual companies in the most recent fiscal year.
All numbers come from each company's most recent DEF 14A proxy filing, available on the SEC's EDGAR system. Equity awards are reported at grant-date fair value under FASB ASC 718; pay-ratio numbers follow SEC Regulation S-K Item 402(u); pay-for-performance scoring follows the four-factor framework documented on the methodology page.
Top 200 Highest-Paid CEOs
How This Ranking Is Computed
The ranking sorts every tracked company by the CEO's reported total compensation in the most recent fiscal year, as disclosed in the Summary Compensation Table of the DEF 14A. Where a company has had a CEO transition mid-year, both predecessor and successor totals are reported separately as filed; this list shows whichever named executive officer was serving as CEO at fiscal year-end. Pay-for-Performance Grades are computed at the company level using the four-factor framework — relative TSR, revenue versus comp growth, say-on-pay vote, and pay ratio versus peers — documented in full at methodology. Authoritative governance context comes from Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis frameworks.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "highest paid" actually mean here?
This ranking sorts CEOs by total compensation as reported in the Summary Compensation Table of the company's most recent SEC DEF 14A proxy statement. Total comp is the sum of base salary, bonus, stock awards (at grant-date fair value), option awards, non-equity incentive plan compensation, change in pension value and nonqualified deferred compensation earnings, and all other compensation. The number is the same one the SEC requires every public company to disclose under Regulation S-K Item 402.
Why are these numbers different from realized pay?
Stock and option awards are reported at grant-date fair value under FASB ASC 718, which is an accounting estimate at the time of grant rather than what the executive actually banked. The same DEF 14A includes a separate "Option Exercises and Stock Vested" table that reports realized pay — the dollar value of options exercised and stock vested during the fiscal year. Both views matter: grant-date is what the board approved, realized is what actually flowed to the CEO.
How does this list compare across industries?
Pay is far from evenly distributed. The top 10 CEOs in this ranking average $33.9M, while the average across all 209 tracked companies is $12.2M. Tech, communication services, and financials dominate the top of the list; consumer staples and utilities tend to sit further down even at comparable revenue scales.
How often is this ranking updated?
The ranking refreshes whenever a new DEF 14A proxy filing reaches SEC EDGAR (https://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml). Most large issuers file in March or April during proxy season. The current dataset was last refreshed April 2026.
What is the Pay-for-Performance Grade in the rightmost column?
An A–F letter grade computed from four signals: 3-year total shareholder return versus the sector benchmark (35%), revenue growth versus CEO compensation growth (25%), the most recent say-on-pay shareholder vote (25%), and CEO-to-worker pay ratio versus industry peers (15%). In this top-paid sample, 18% of companies earn an A and 0% earn an F. The methodology is documented in full at /methodology.
Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, DEF 14A proxy filings via EDGAR. Public domain.
Last updated 2026-04-06 · 200 CEOs ranked, 209 companies tracked.