America's highest and lowest paid CEOs revealed: The head of Discovery television made nearly $130 million in 2018, while Google and Twitter leaders took token pay of $1 each but the majority of executives saw raises of 5% or more
- David Zaslav, the CEO of Discovery Inc., is the highest paid executive in America
- Discovery, which operates the television channel, compensated Zaslav with a $129.4 million package last year – the majority of which was paid in stock
- A majority of CEOs on the S&P 500 received raises of 5% or more last year
- The median pay for the CEOs of America's largest companies was $12.4 million in 2018 – a new high following the economic downturn that started in 2008
- Just 20 women were CEOS for the full year in 2018, with the median pay among female CEOs coming $13.7 million – higher than the median pay for men
David Zaslav, the CEO of Discovery Inc., was the highest paid executive in America in 2018, with compensation of $129.4 million
David Zaslav, the CEO of Discovery Inc., is the highest paid executive in America, according to a new report.
Discovery, which operates the television channel, compensated Zaslav with a $129.4 million package last year – the majority of which was paid in stock, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.
It was a significant year-on-year pay bump, compared to the $42.2 million in compensation he received in 2017. Discovery shareholders saw a 10.5 percent return on their investment last year.
Zaslov wasn't alone: A majority of CEOs running S&P 500 companies received raises of 5 percent or more last year, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The median pay for the CEOs of America's largest companies was $12.4 million in 2018 – a new high following the economic downturn that started in 2008, according to the Journal.
Stephen F. Angel, of Linde, an industrial gas and engineering company, was the nation's second-highest compensated CEO, with $66.1 million including a majority of non-cash compensation in 2018 - roughly three times his 2017 pay.
Linde shareholders saw a 3.1 percent return on their investment in 2018.
Robert A. Iger, of Disney, ranked third, with $65.6 million in compensation – a majority of which was stock pay.
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Stephen F. Angel (left), of Linde, an industrial gas and engineering company, was the nation's second-highest compensated CEO, with $66.1 million including a majority of non-cash compensation in 2018. Robert A. Iger (right), of Disney, ranked third, with $65.6 million in compensation – a majority of which was stock pay.
Richard B. Handler (left), of Jeffries Financial, came in fourth place on the list of highest-paid CEOs, with $44.7 million in compensation last year – more than double his 2017 pay of $21.8 million. Stephen P. MacMillan (right), of Hologic, a diagnostic and medical imaging company. He made $42 million in 2018 – up 275 percent from the $11.2 million in compensation he received in 2017
It represented an 80.9 percent increase compared to his 2017 pay of $36.3 million.
Disney shareholders saw a 20.4 percent return last year.
Richard B. Handler, of Jeffries Financial, came in fourth place, with $44.7 million – more than double his 2017 pay of $21.8 million. The vast majority of his compensation the past two years has been stock pay. Investors saw a negative return, losing 14.9 percent in 2018.
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Rounding out the top five is Stephen P. MacMillan, of Hologic, a diagnostic and medical imaging company. He made $42 million in 2018 – up 275 percent from the $11.2 million in compensation he received in 2017. The majority of his compensation was stock pay.
Shareholders saw an 11.7 percent return on their investment last year.
At the other end of the spectrum, Larry Page of Alphabet (Google's parent company) and Jack Dorsey, of Twitter, were tied for the dubious honor of being the lowest paid CEOs in America.
This table breaks out the highest and lowest paid CEOs in America, as well as the highest-paid female CEOs
Larry Page (left) of Alphabet (Google's parent company) and Jack Dorsey (right), of Twitter, were tied for the dubious honor of being the lowest paid CEOs in America in 2018, each making token salaries of $1 last year. Alphabet shareholders saw a negative return, losing 0.8 percent last year, while Twitter shareholders saw a 19.7 percent return on investment
A. Jayson Adair (left), of Copart, an online auto salvage and auction company, was the third-lowest paid CEO in 2018, with $203,000 in compensation in 2018. Warren Buffett (center), CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, ranked fourth-lowest, with $389,000 in compensation, down 18.2 percent from $476,000 in 2017. In fifth place was Valentine Gapontsev (right), of IPG Photonics, a manufacturer of fiber lasers and amplifiers. He was paid $1.7 million in 2018, a 27.6 percent decrease from his $2.3 million compensation in 2017
Page and Alphabet, both billionaires, made token salaries of $1 each in 2018.
Alphabet shareholders saw a negative return, losing 0.8 percent last year, while Twitter shareholders saw a 19.7 percent return on investment.
The highest paid female CEO was Mary T. Barra (left), of General Motors, at $21.9 million in 2018, down slightly from $22 million the year before
The third-lowest paid CEO was A. Jayson Adair, of Copart, an online auto salvage and auction company. He made $203,000 in 2018, a 485 percent increase compared to his $35,000 compensation in 2017. Shareholders saw an 82.2 percent return on their investment last year.
Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, ranked fourth-lowest, with $389,000 in compensation, down 18.2 percent from $476,000 in 2017. Shareholders saw a 3 percent return on their investment last year.
In fifth place was Valentine Gapontsev, of IPG Photonics, a manufacturer of fiber lasers and amplifiers. He was paid $1.7 million in 2018, a 27.6 percent decrease from his $2.3 million compensation in 2017. Shareholders saw a 47.1 percent drop in returns for 2018.
Just 20 women were CEOS for the full year in 2018, with big names including PepsiCo's Indra Nooyi and Hewlett Packard's Meg Whitman retiring.
Still, the median pay among female CEOs was $13.7 million – higher than for men.
The highest paid female CEO was Mary T. Barra, of General Motors, at $21.9 million in 2018, down slightly from $22 million the year before.
In third place was Phebe Novakovic, of General Dynamics, a global aerospace and defense company. She made $20.7 million last year, down from $21.5 million in 2017. Marillyn A. Hewson (right), of Lockheed Martin followed, with total compensation of $21.5 million last year, down 5.9 percent from $22.9 million in 2017
Virginia Rometty (left), of IBM, was in fourth place, with $17.6 million in compensation, down 5.6 percent from $18.6 million in 2017. Adena Friedman (right), of Nasdaq, ranked fifth, with $14.4 million in total compensation, down from $14.5 million in 2017
Marillyn A. Hewson, of Lockheed Martin followed, with total compensation of $21.5 million last year, down 5.9 percent from $22.9 million in 2017.
In third place was Phebe Novakovic, of General Dynamics, a global aerospace and defense company. She made $20.7 million last year, down from $21.5 million in 2017.
Virginia Rometty, of IBM, was in fourth place, with $17.6 million in compensation, down 5.6 percent from $18.6 million in 2017.
Adena Friedman, of Nasdaq, ranked fifth, with $14.4 million in total compensation, down from $14.5 million in 2017.
