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10 of the highest-paid CEOs in the US – their salaries, ranked: from Apple’s Tim Cook to the CEOs of Microsoft and Adobe – and one female leader with a 9-figure compensation package

Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Coty CEO Sue Y. Nabi rake in plenty of dough. Photos: Getty Images, AFP
Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Coty CEO Sue Y. Nabi rake in plenty of dough. Photos: Getty Images, AFP

  • Leading a billion-dollar company is no mean feat, with CEOs often having to achieve stratospheric targets and answer to shareholders – but the job comes with some of the heftiest pay packages around
  • In the US, the CEOs of tech companies like Apple and Microsoft receive some of the highest compensations, but the beauty company Coty’s boss is making bank too, as are cybersecurity leaders

It should come as no surprise that it pays to climb your way to the top of the organisational hierarchy.

The highest-paid CEOs in the US aren’t necessarily household names – even if their companies might be – but they’re enjoying some pretty sweet pay packages. But, to receive their hefty payouts, CEOs often have to achieve targets such as stock price thresholds.

About halfway through this year’s proxy season, Equilar, the company that analyses data on executive compensation, has revealed that the median compensation package for American CEOs was valued at a cool US$23.7 million in 2023, a jump of 11.4 per cent from the previous year. The data was based on proxy statements filed through March 31.

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The jump in compensation was stronger than the 7.7 per cent increase CEOs overall saw at this point last year, according to Equilar data.

1. Hock Tan, CEO of Broadcom

Estimated compensation: US$161.8 million

Hock Tan, CEO of Broadcom Ltd, with former US president Donald Trump at a press conference at the White House, in November 2017. Photo: Bloomberg
Hock Tan, CEO of Broadcom Ltd, with former US president Donald Trump at a press conference at the White House, in November 2017. Photo: Bloomberg
The value of Malaysia-born Tan’s total compensation jumped to US$161.8 million in 2023, a 167 per cent increase over the previous year. The pay ratio – how much more he takes home than the average employee of the chip and software maker – was 510 to one.

The company had US$35.8 billion in revenue in the financial year of 2023. Tan announced in 2017 that Broadcom would move its headquarters to the US from Singapore; the move was finalised in 2018, per Reuters.

2. Nikesh Arora, Palo Alto Networks

Estimated compensation: US$151.4 million