The average compensation of the CEOs of the largest American companies soared in 2021 to 14.7 million dollars a year, a sixth consecutive record, according to a survey by The Wall Street Journal newspaper published this Sunday.
Between salaries, bonuses, benefits and stock options, a top corporate executive’s total compensation increased 12% last year due to increases in corporate profits, shareholder returns and stock prices.
For two-thirds of CEOs, this compensation comes largely in the form of shares or stock options invested over several years.
The Wall Street Journal analysis covers 400 companies.
Without these portfolios, the median salary of top US CEOs stands at $3.1 million.
The top 25 executives on the list received total compensation of $35 million annually. The best paid are in the information technology or media sector.
At the top of the survey for 2021 is Peter Kern, CEO of the Expedia travel portal, with a package of income of 296 million dollars. In April 2020 he had been appointed to command the rescue of the group of travel sites (Travelocity, Orbitz), heavily affected by the impact of Covid-19.
Following closely behind is Warner Bros. Discovery director David Zaslav, who earned $246 million in compensation.
