Top CEOs Earned Less In 2022 Compared To 2021: Discover Their Earnings And The Highest-Paid Leaders

The issue of executive compensation remains a highly debated subject among shareholders of publicly traded corporations. This discussion is fueled by instances where job and cost reductions are implemented, while some executives continue to receive substantial rewards.

What Happened: New rules for public companies were passed by the Securities and Exchange Commission that will make executive compensation a key focus in terms of transparency. Companies will be required to list executive compensation and any relevant financial performance measures.

Under the new regulations, companies may halt the growth of executive compensation through equity and stock option awards or prioritize performance metrics over base salaries in an attempt to satisfy analysts and shareholders. Compensation will be monitored on an annual basis instead of being tied to the payout period.

In 2022, the average pay for CEOs of companies in the S&P 500 fell for the first time in over a decade, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

According to the report, around two-thirds of CEOs of companies in the leading market index saw their pay come in lower than expected. The change was mostly due to declining stock prices in 2022.

Some of the biggest losers named in the report were Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk, Expedia Inc EXPE CEO Peter Kern and Amazon.com Inc AMZN CEO Andy Jassy. The report said the trio lost around $10 billion, $237 million and $149 million respectively in potential compensation due to stock prices falling.

CEOs of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, T-Mobile and Occidental Petroleum were on the other side of the equity awards, with increased share prices leading to higher payouts than originally estimated.

The report said that around 70% of CEO compensation comes from equity awards or stock option awards, compared to traditional salaries, which make up the majority of the other 30%.

In 2022, the median pay for a CEO of an S&P 500 company was $14.5 million, which was down from a record $14.7 million set in 2021. This marks the first decline in over a decade, as the median pay has risen in each of the last 10 years, setting new records annually.

While the median pay amount was lower, around half of the CEOs got a raise in overall pay.

Related Link: Here's How Much You Could Buy With These CEOs And Other C-Level Executives Yearly Compensation

Who Made The Most?: The report from the Wall Street Journal singles out the CEOs who topped several lists, including highest compensation, lowest compensation and the biggest gainers.

Here’s a look at the highest-paid CEOs of S&P 500 companies:

Sundar Pichai, CEO Alphabet Inc GOOGGOOGL: $226 million in compensation, made up of $218.04 million in equity compensation and $7.95 million in cash and other payments.

Michale Rapino, CEO Live Nation Entertainment LYV: $139 million total compensation, made up of $116.74 million in equity compensation and $22.26 million in cash and other payments.

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Inc AAPL: $99 million total compensation, made up of $82.99 million in equity compensation and $16.43 million in cash and other payments.

The report notes that the executive compensation values could be different under new reporting rules.

In 2022, Rapino was granted a $6 million signing bonus for extending his contract with the company. Additionally, he received $117 million in stock awards throughout 2022, which will vest until 2027. Consequently, the total compensation depends on whether you consider the entire amount upfront or as it is disbursed over time.

Surprising to some, two of the lowest-paid CEOs by compensation in 2022 were Musk and Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK-A)(NYSE: BRK-B) CEO Warren Buffett, who each made less than $5 million.

Read Next: Netflix Co-CEOs Made 230 Times Average Company Employees Salary In 2022 Despite Stock Fall 

Photo: Courtesy of Nguyen Hung Vu on Flickr.