The 10 highest-paid CEOs, from Broadcom to Blackstone

TPG CEO Jon Winkelried topped this list of highest-paid business leaders for 2023 with a compensation package of almost $199 million, more than $10 million more than the next-best paid executive. His compensation grew about 483% year over year.

That’s about 683 times more than the median employee at the private equity firm earned last year, although it’s worth noting that almost all of Winkelried’s compensation — $185 million — came from stock awards.

Carlyle Group CEO Harvey Schwarz’s compensation hit almost $187 million last year, about $840,000 of which came via his salary. That comes out to 813 times more than the median employee’s pay at the global investment firm, which manages some $425 billion of assets.

Schwartz joined Carlyle in February 2023, after the firm’s board of directors embarked on a six-month search to replace interim CEO and board chair Bill Conway. Former CEO Kewsong Lee stepped down in August 2022, months before his contract was set to expire at the end of the year.

Broadcom CEO Hock Tan earned $161.8 million last year, including a $1.2 million salary, marking a 167% pay increase. That comes out to about 510 times more than the median employee earned at his company, which has reported a strong performance this year. Its stock is up by more than 52% year-to-date, and its second-quarter earnings wowed Wall Street.

Palo Alto Networks is doing pretty well this year and so is CEO Nikesh Arora. Arora made $151 million last year, including a $750,000 salary. Like most executives, the bulk of his compensation came from stock awards, giving him a 1,355% pay increase, according to Equilar. Arora’s compensation was 735 times more than the median worker at his company.

Sue Nabi, the CEO of the beauty company Coty, made $149.4 million last year, including $145.8 million from stock awards. Her compensation climbed by 4,100% compared to 2022 and came out to 3,769 times more than the median employee at her company made last year.

Private aviation company Wheels Up appointed George Mattson, a longtime member of Delta Air Lines’s board of directors, as CEO last September. Since then, he’s been compensated with a $144,231 salary and $148.4 million in stock awards. Combined with other compensation awarded to him, Mattson made $148.9 million for the 2023 fiscal year. That’s about 2,406 times more than the median worker at his company.

Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman was one of the rare executives who actually took a pay cut in 2023, with total compensation of almost $120 million. A year earlier, he took home $253.1 million, largely due to almost $190.5 million in carried interest and incentive fees.

Still, Schwarzman made 489 times as much as the median employee at Blackstone, the private equity firm he helped found in 1985. He’s the 32nd richest individual alive, according to Forbes, with a net worth of $42.7 billion.

Charter Communications may have had a bit of a rough year as it dealt with a short-lived dispute with The Walt Disney Co., but CEO Christopher Winfrey came out pretty well. Winfrey made more than $89 million in 2023, including $74.9 million in stock awards. His pay came out to 1,635 times more than Charter’s median employee made in 2023.

Pablo Legorreta is the CEO of Royalty Pharma, a lesser-known private equity firm that has built its portfolio in the drug business for more than two decades. Legorreta’s compensation came in at $84.8 million last year, a relatively-low 240 times more than the median employee at the firm. Legorreta is the 1,104th richest individual in the world, according to Forbes, with a net worth of $3.1 billion.

Endeavor CEO Ariel Emanuel’s compensation package was valued at $83.9 million last year, up 340% compared to a year earlier. His compensation came out to 1,184 times more than the median employee at Endeavor, which includes the UFC and WWE in its portfolio.

So, technically, Tesla CEO Elon Musk received no compensation for his work last year. But shareholders are looking to change that.

Investors in June re-approved Musk’s 2018 compensation package, which has been valued at $56 billion, after it was struck down by a Delaware state judge earlier in the year. Tesla and its shareholders are currently in court fighting to change that decision and give Musk his compensation, which is largely made up of stock options. It would allow him to purchase 304 million shares at a little more than $23 a pop, giving him more control of the automaker/artificial intelligence firm.