In 2025, the number of U.S. CEOs receiving over $100 million in pay has surged, marking a comeback for nine-figure compensation packages after a previous decline. Close to a dozen CEOs surpassed the $200 million mark, making last year the highest since 2021 for such substantial payouts. This trend is detailed in a June 23, 2026, Wall Street Journal report, highlighting a clear rebound in executive compensation.
While the headline article was not directly accessible, corroborating reports indicate that the median compensation for CEOs on the Equilar 100 list increased by 35.8% to $39.4 million in 2025. This record-setting median was largely driven by long-term stock awards, which climbed 44.6% to $28.4 million. The pay gap also widened, with the median CEO-to-worker pay ratio expanding by 36.5% to 475:1, where the median employee at these companies earned $101,322.
Notable top earners include Elon Musk of Tesla, whose compensation package reached $132.3 billion, primarily from a long-term stock award. Other significant payouts in the S&P 500 in 2025 went to Shankh Mitra of Welltower ($821 million), George Kurtz of Crowdstrike ($248 million), and Hock Tan of Broadcom ($205 million). David Zaslav of Warner Bros. Discovery received $165 million, Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone got $126 million, and David Solomon of Goldman Sachs totaled $119 million. Nikesh Arora of Palo Alto Networks rounded out the top eight with $100 million, despite shareholder rejection of his package.
The overall increase in CEO compensation is largely attributed to the soaring value of stock awards, which constitute over 70% of total pay. Cash compensation, including salaries, bonuses, and perks, saw a modest 3.6% increase to $6.1 million. Base salaries remained steady at $1.3 million, while cash bonuses declined by 5.4% to $3.4 million. Perks, however, jumped by 59.2%, partly due to increased investments in security measures for chief executives.
