A CEO (Chief Executive Officer) is the senior-most highest-ranking executive in a company. The primary responsibilities of a CEO are decision making, management of overall operations, and resources of a company, and acting as the main figure of communication between the directors and the corporate operations. The CEO reports directly to and is accountable to, the Board of Directors of a company. In simple terms, being a CEO means being the company’s public face. A CEO is chosen by the board and shareholders of a particular company. Sometimes other titles are used to address CEOs, such as Chief Executive, President, and Managing Director.
ROLE OF A CEO?
Being one of the most important figures of a particular organization, the roles, and work of a CEO varies from one company to another. Usually, it depends on the organizational structure or sometimes the size of the company.
For instance, in smaller companies, the CEO takes on more “involving roles” e.g. hiring a staff. Whereas in larger companies, the CEOs usually deal with upper-tier corporate strategies and major decision-making tasks.
An efficient CEO is necessary for the company to grow and achieve great success. It is the CEO of the company who makes crucial decisions. In this article, we will talk about the world’s highest-paid CEOs and how their skills and decision making strategies make them world-class leaders.
Here is the list of highest-paid CEOs in the world
10. SAFRA A. CATZ
Compensation: $239.5 million
Company: Oracle Corporation
The CEO and member of the Board of Directors of Oracle Corporation, Safra A. Catz, is the only woman to make her space in the top 10 highest-paid CEOs list. Safra became the CEO of Oracle in 2014 and served as a Board of Directors member since 2001.
She leads the company with her strategic and aggressive acquisitions and has helped in more than 130 acquisitions of the companies. Prior to this, she was associated with the companies like Walt Disney and HSBC Holdings plc.
9. HOCK E. TAN
Compensation: $288 million
Company: Broadcom
A Malaysian Chinese Businessman, Hock E. Tan is the President and CEO of Broadcom. He held the position of CEO in 2006 and since then hasn’t turned back. He is the one leading the company to its infinite heights.
Hailing from Penang, Malaysian Peninsula, Hock E. Tan has built a global empire of Computer- chips. Closely experiencing Autism in some of his family members, Hock E. Tan donated $30 million to fight the cause in 2017.
8. ROBERT A. KOTICK
Compensation: $296.7 million
Company: Activision Blizzard
Robert A. Kotick also known as Bobby Kotick, is an American Businessman. He became the CEO of Activision Blizzard in 2008. Robert also led the company’s merger with Vivendi Games.
He is considered to have an unmatched eye for video games. Under his leadership, the company tops the video game industry with bestselling games like Guitar Hero, World Of Warcraft, and Call Of Duty.
7. SATYA NADELLA
Compensation: $309.4 million
Company: Microsoft
An Indian-American businessman, Satya Nadella is the Executive Chairman and CEO of Microsoft. He joined Microsoft in 1992, prior to this Satya Nadella worked with Sun Microsystems as the technology staff. Nadella rose consistently through the positions at Microsoft. The net worth of Satya Nadella is $824 million. with a salary of $309.4 million. He is the 7th highest paid CEO in the world.
6. MARC BENIOFF
Compensation: $439.4 million
Company: Salesforce
Serving as the CEO and Co-Founder of Salesforce, Marc Benioff is among the highest-paid CEOs in the world. He incepted Salesforce in 1999 with the core values of trust, customer success, innovation, and equality. Marc has been recognized as an “Innovator of Decade” by Forbes. Marc owns 4% of the company.
Apart from being a businessman, Marc Benioff is a well-known philanthropist also. He is associated with World Economic Forum (WEF) and has also initiated a global movement to conserve, restore and grow trees.
5. LEONARD SCHLEIFER
Compensation: $452.9 million
Company: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
An American businessman, Leonard Schleifer is the President and CEO of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. He is also a licensed physician and certified in Neurology. Under his leadership, the company developed nine FDA approved medicines.
With a total compensation of $452.9, Leonard is listed as the 5th highest paid CEO in the world. His total net worth is $1.1 billion and posses 4% of the company’s share. Leonard was awarded ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ by Ernst & Young.
4. REED HASTINGS
Compensation: $453.5 million
Company: Netflix
The CEO of popular entertainment platform Netflix, Reed Hastings is credited for building the streaming empire. Reed Hasting sold his first company to Rational Software for $750 million and funded Netflix with that money. The company started as a DVD description device but eventually started streaming content in 2007.
Hastings takes $453.5 million as salary and owns a 1% share of the company. The total net worth of Reed Hastings is estimated at $2.7 billion. His net worth increased substantially in 2022 after Netflix Stock hit its all-time high.
3. JENSEN HUANG
Compensation: $561 million
Company: NVIDIA
The third highest-paid CEO in the world, Jensen Huang is a Taiwanese-American businessman. Since the inception of the company, Jensen Huang holds the position of CEO in the company. Listed among the world’s billionaires by Forbes, his net worth is estimated at $18.3 billion in 2022.
The total compensation of Jensen Huang is $561 million. He holds 3.6% shares of the company. Huang provides funds of $30 million to Stanford University for an engineering centre.
2. TIM COOK
Compensation: $770.5 million
Company: Apple
Tim Cook joined Apple Inc in 1998 and became its CEO in 2011. Today, he receives $770.5 million worth of total compensation. Being the second-largest shareholder of his company, he officially became a billionaire in August 2020.
He has a net worth of $2 billion in 2022. Being a philanthropist, Cook has decided to donate a large chunk of his money to the charity after his death. His work is acknowledged by the Financial Times Person of the Year (2014).
1. ELON MUSK
Compensation: $23.5 billion
Company: Tesla
Elon Musk is one of the most popular and successful entrepreneurs with a net worth of $282 billion. He is the CEO of Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), an automotive and energy company focused on developing high-performance, fuel-efficient cars (Electric Cars), along with many other companies. His Annual earnings reach up to $23.5 billion making him the highest-paid CEO in the entire world. Elon Musk receives his compensation majorly as stock and option awards.
