Who are the highest-paid CEOs in US?

Although Musk, who leads the world’s largest electric vehicle maker by market capitalization, receives no salary, he will be awarded the stock package if he meets targets set by Tesla’s board, according to the CEO Pay Study published by The Associated Press and research firm Equilar.

The targets cover a 10-year period and include goals tied to Tesla’s market value and electric vehicle business, as well as Musk’s ambitions to develop a fleet of robotaxis and an army of humanoid robots.

From L: David Solomon, CEO of The Goldman Sachs Group; Hock E. Tan, CEO of Broadcom Inc.; Elon R. Musk, CEO of Tesla, Inc.; David M. Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.; Shankh S. Mitra, CEO of Welltower Inc. Graphic designed by VnExpress/Dat Nguyen. Photos by Reuters, companies' website

Shankh Mitra of Welltower received the second-largest pay package in the survey, valued at $821.1 million, with most of it in stock awards.

Since Mitra became CEO of the healthcare real estate investment trust in October 2020, Welltower’s stock price had tripled by October 2025. Mitra can receive the full compensation, beyond his $110,000 annual salary, only after a 10-year period.

Broadcom CEO Hock Tan received a pay package valued at $205.3 million, covering the years 2028 to 2030. Tan’s package is tied to his ability to sharply increase Broadcom’s revenue from artificial intelligence, making it one of the few companies currently using AI as a benchmark in executive compensation plans.

In the fourth place, David Zaslav was at the center of a takeover battle that ended with him selling Warner Bros. to Paramount Skydance for $31 a share, up from $12.54 before reports emerged of Paramount’s interest in a deal.

For negotiating the deal at a premium and exceeding certain financial and strategic goals, Warner awarded Zaslav a compensation package valued at $165 million. Since becoming CEO in 2007, Zaslav’s total compensation has reached $1.1 billion.

Ranking 5th, Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon’s pay package totaled almost $119 million, including stock valued at $80 million he can receive after five years.

Goldman’s board pointed to the 57% gain in the company’s shares, as well as a hefty increase in its earnings per share. Solomon also sold off the company’s Apple Card portfolio after an unsuccessful effort to expand Goldman’s consumer-focused business.

The typical CEO compensation package in the U.S. increased nearly 6% in 2025 to $17.7 million, as corporate boards rewarded top executives for stronger profits and higher share prices while also giving them incentives to remain in their roles and generate further gains for shareholders.

The median employee at companies in the S&P 500 earned $89,744, up 4.7% from a year earlier. Although the increase exceeded the inflation rate in 2025, many workers continued to feel pressure from the cumulative impact of higher prices over the past several years. Some had to cut spending to make ends meet and accumulated credit card debt to pay for everyday necessities.

The study covers pay data for 337 executives at S&P 500 companies. The executives had served at least two full consecutive fiscal years at their companies.