TOP 5 highest paid CEOs of 2021 ✓

 World’s top 5 highest paid CEOs of 2021

STAR X

17 Apr 2021

WORLD

1. Elon Musk - CEO Tesla · 

2. Apple Inc. - CEO Tim Cook ·

3 . Charter Communications Inc.- CEO Tom Rutledge · 

4. ViacomCBS.-Joseph Ianniello

5. Chewy, Inc.- Sumit Singh

They’re a huge aspiration pool for go-getters to show up, work hard and earn their way to the top

Every year the world keeps a close eye in the bank balance of the top CEOs to see who is are participating in the rat race or who has bagged how much wealth than the other. Apart from that, their intrinsic knowledge, wisdom, pay cheques - are inspiration to many to look upto. 

They're a huge aspiration pool for go-getters to show up, work hard and earn their way to the top, reports GQ India. 

And here's hoping these five moguls, who've bagged the top five spots in "Bloomberg's Highest Paid US CEOs: Top Salaries in 2019 list", does the same for you. 

Skyrocketing compensation to chief executives at large corporations continues to be a topic of heated debate. Nowhere is that more clear than in the latest list of best-paid executives in 2018, which includes well-known names such as Tesla's chief Elon Musk, Chewy CEO Sumit Singh, and Apple's Tim Cook.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The list of highest-paid CEOs in 2021 includes familiar names like Tesla's Elon Musk, Apple's Tim Cook, and Chewy's Sumit Singh.

CEO Elon Musk topped the list.

Compensation data includes salaries, bonuses, stock and option awards, and perks.

Listed below are the 10 highest-paid executives in 2019 and ranked according to the Bloomberg Pay Index. Bloomberg's analysis includes salaries, bonuses, and equity awards that are valued at each company’s fiscal year-end. Recurring grants or options are counted in the year they’re bestowed, and one-time grants meant to compensate an executive for several years are allocated over the period as explained in filings.

1. Elon Musk - $595.3 million

Elon Musk also criticized the way most companies are run. He also took a swipe at the business school graduates complaining that too many MBAs were running companies Photo: Collected

In what hardly comes as a shocker, Elon Musk emerged as the highest-paid CEO. For the uninitiated, Musk is the CEO of Tesla, and according to the company's website, he leads product design, engineering and global manufacturing of Tesla's electric vehicles, battery products and solar energy products. Notably, Musk is also CEO of Neuralink, and previously co-founded and sold PayPal.

With a total compensation of $595.2 million, Elon Musk's name at the top of this list obviously raises many eyebrows. His electric-car manufacturer, Tesla Inc. (TSLA), posted a $1 billion loss in 2018, and Musk has never wanted a salary (he is paid minimum wage to abide by the law, but he doesn't cash the checks).

2. Tim Cook - $133.7 million

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks at the WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, California. Photo: Reuters

Apple's CEO and ex-Chief Operating Officer, Tim Cook ranked second on the list. He's also the highest-paid CEO, currently, in the tech industry. According to Bloomberg, more than $122 million of all the money Cook made last year came from stock awards. Notably, before joining Apple, Cook has already been in the tech biz for over a decade.

A big boost to Tim Cook came in the form of an equity grant from over 10 years ago in 2011. His total compensation was $133.7 million in stocks, salary, and a bonus.3 His stock award was $122 million while his salary was $3 million, a base salary that has remained this figure for the past two years.

3. Thomas Rutledge - $116.9 million

Thomas Rutledge or Tom Rutledge is the Chairman and CEO of Charter Communications, a cable company. He began his career in 1977 at American Television and Communications (ATC), a predecessor of Time Warner Cable where he served in many different capacities, eventually becoming President of Time Warner Cable, reads the company's website.

Rutledge received a total of $116.9 million in option awards, bonus, salary, and stock awards in 2019 moving him to the number three spot on this list. There are a handful of media moguls on the Bloomberg list.

4. Joseph Ianniello - $116.6 million

Former chairman and CEO of the CBS Entertainment Group for ViacomCBS, Joseph Ianniello, who started his career at CBS in 1997 as the Director of Financial Planning took home a pretty hefty paycheque, last year, even after stepping down from the company. Notably, according to Variety, he took home $125.4 million in compensation and severance payments from ViacomCBS.

Awarded $116.5 million in 2019, another media figurehead rises on the Bloomberg Index. Former acting CEO of CBS, Ianniello was awarded a bulk of his salary in perks worth $85 million.

5. Sumit Singh - $108.2 million

Sumit Singh is the CEO and Director of Chewy, Inc. An online store that brands itself as a convenient destination for pet parents. According to Singh's LinkedIn profile, under his leadership, Chewy became a public company in June 2019, trading on the New York Stock Exchange as CHWY and raised $1 billion from stock sale. His previous endeavours include a stint at Amazon and Dell.

Pet lovers' financial embrace of the online one-stop shop for furry family members made Chewy an extremely lucrative business. Its CEO was awarded $108.1 million in 2019, including stock options and salary.

According to an article in Bloomberg: "Diane Pelkey, a spokeswoman for online pet retailer Chewy Inc. whose CEO Sumit Singh is fifth on the index with $108.2 million, disputes Bloomberg’s calculation of his pay. Only about a quarter of his shares had vested at the end of 2019, she said in an email."