Highest Paid CEO In America Bagged A Nine-Figure Package Beating Tim Cook, Satya Nadella And Bob Iger

Jim Anderson, the freshly appointed chief executive of laser‑equipment maker Coherent Corp. COHR, tops the 2024 leaderboard for CEO pay with a staggering $101.5 million package — the only nine‑figure haul in a new study that looked at CEO compensation structures across American companies with a revenue of $1 billion and more.

What Happened: According to the Equilar 100 study, Anderson joined the Saxonburg, Pa., firm in June 2024 with a pro‑rated cash salary of just $81,538 and a $500,000 signing bonus, but Coherent's board sweetened the pot with more than $100 million in stock awards, according to its proxy filing.

He edges out Starbucks boss Brian Niccol, who collected $95.8 million, and eclipses marquee names such as Microsoft Corp's MSFT Satya Nadella ($79.1 million), Apple's AAPL Tim Cook ($74.6 million) and Disney's DIS Bob Iger ($40.6 million).

Equilar's snapshot, which reviews proxy statements filed through March 31, pegs median CEO compensation at $25.6 million, up 9.5% from a year earlier. Sky‑high equity grants are doing the heavy lifting: median stock awards jumped 40.5% and now account for nearly three‑quarters of total pay.

What To Know: A rather recent report from Oxfam warns that global income inequality is widening. CEOs now earn 50% more in real terms than they did in 2019, while rank‑and‑file wages barely budged.

In a joint study with the International Trade Union Confederation, the charity examined nearly 2,000 firms in 35 countries and found that average chief executive pay hit $4.3 million in 2024, up from $2.9 million five years ago after inflation.

Workers, by contrast, saw their paychecks edge up just 0.9% over the same span. The researchers pulled full compensation packages — including bonuses and stock options — from the S&P Capital IQ database and called for sweeping reforms to what they deem a system "rigged for the ultra‑rich."

Separate data only highlight the gap: only 19 U.S. households — among them Elon Musk, Warren Buffett and Jeff Bezos — added a collective $1 trillion to their net worth last year.

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