Discovery’s Zaslav, Disney’s Iger among highest-paid CEOs
Published:Sunday | May 26, 2019 | 12:00 AM
Pay for CEOs at the biggest companies in the United States climbed 7 per cent last year, widening the gap between chief executives and their workers, whose pay did not rise as quickly.
Here are the highest-paid CEOs in the S&P 500 index for 2018 as calculated by The Associated Press and Equilar, an executive data firm. The AP’s compensation study covered 340 executives at S&P 500 companies who have served at least two full consecutive fiscal years at their respective companies, which filed proxy statements between January 1 and April 30. Some companies with highly paid CEOs do not fit these criteria.
Pay for chief executives rose to a median of US$12 million last year, including salary, stock, and other compensation. Median means half were larger, and half were smaller.
Compensation often includes stock and option grants that the CEO may not receive for years unless certain performance measures are met. For some companies, big raises occur when CEOs get a stock or option grant in one year as part of a multiyear grant.
1. David Zaslav
Discovery
US$129.5 million
Change from last year: 207%
His pay vs typical company worker: 1,511 times, up from 522
2. Robert Iger
Walt Disney
US$65.6 million
Change from last year: 81%
His pay vs typical company worker: 1,424 times
3. Richard Handler
Jefferies Financial Group
US$44.7 million
Change from last year: 105%
His pay vs typical company worker: 298 times, down from 489
4. Stephen MacMillan
Hologic
US$42 million
Change from last year: 275%
His pay vs typical company worker: 478 times
5. Joseph Hogan
Align Technology
US$41.8 million
Change from last year: 256%
His pay vs typical company worker: 3,168 times, up from 920
6. Daniel Schulman
PayPal
US$37.8 million.
Change from last year: 96%
His pay vs typical company worker: 543 times, up from 274
7. Reed Hastings
Netflix
US$36.1 million
Change from last year: 48%
His pay vs typical company worker: 178 times, up from 133
8. Brian Roberts
Comcast
US$35 million
Change from last year: 8%
His pay vs typical company worker: 426 times, down from 458
9. Robert Kotick
Activision Blizzard
US$30.8 million
Change from last year: 7%
His pay vs typical company worker: 319 times, up from 306
10. James Dimon
JPMorgan Chase
US$30 million
Change from last year: 6%
His pay vs typical company worker: 381 times, up from 364