Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla has emerged as the richest CEO of 2021, according to the list released by Fortune, the American multinational business magazine. He is followed by 'Apple's Tim Cook' , Jensen Huang of NVIDIA and 7 others. According to the list titled 'the 10 most highly compensated Fortune 500 CEOs of 2021', Musk "realized" compensation worth almost $23.5 billion in 2021. That was—by far—the biggest CEO payday in 2021. The magazine finalized the list of 10 highly compensated CEOs, after evaluation of the pay packages of 280 fortune 500 CEOs, who earned a median total compensation of $15.9 million, up 30% from last year. Here are 10 highest paid CEOs in the world , according to Fortune.
Elon Musk, Tesla ($23.5 billion): Founder and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is named as the highest paid CEO in the world by Fortune magazine. Tesla had a blockbuster 2021, bringing in $53.8 billion in revenue, up 71% from 2020, and expanding significantly into key European and Chinese markets. The company delivered 936,000 vehicles in 2021, an increase of 87% that puts the company at the pinnacle of the global Electric Vehicle industry, with a 14% market share.
Tim Cook, Apple ($770.5 billion): Apple CEO, Tim Cook earned a whopping $770.5 billion in the year 2021, majorly as a part of a 10-year grant of shares worth $1.7 billion. He has been the CEO of Apple Inc. since 20111. The tech company’s market value during his tenure has increased by $2.2 trillion. However, the company faced challenges because of the global chip shortage, but successfully began manufacturing the equipment in-house.
Jensen Huang, NVIDIA ($561 billion): Jensen Huang, the co-founder of NVIDIA is ranked third in the list with an earning of $561 billion. The company's revenue surged 61.4%. According to the report, "Huang realized about $507 million from expiring options that had been granted in 2011 and 2012, reflecting the approximately 60x increase in the company’s share price over the [past] decade."
Elon Musk, Tesla ($23.5 billion): Founder and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is named as the highest paid CEO in the world by Fortune magazine. Tesla had a blockbuster 2021, bringing in $53.8 billion in revenue, up 71% from 2020, and expanding significantly into key European and Chinese markets. The company delivered 936,000 vehicles in 2021, an increase of 87% that puts the company at the pinnacle of the global Electric Vehicle industry, with a 14% market share.
Tim Cook, Apple ($770.5 billion): Apple CEO, Tim Cook earned a whopping $770.5 billion in the year 2021, majorly as a part of a 10-year grant of shares worth $1.7 billion. He has been the CEO of Apple Inc. since 20111. The tech company’s market value during his tenure has increased by $2.2 trillion. However, the company faced challenges because of the global chip shortage, but successfully began manufacturing the equipment in-house.
Jensen Huang, NVIDIA ($561 billion): Jensen Huang, the co-founder of NVIDIA is ranked third in the list with an earning of $561 billion. The company's revenue surged 61.4%. According to the report, "Huang realized about $507 million from expiring options that had been granted in 2011 and 2012, reflecting the approximately 60x increase in the company’s share price over the [past] decade."
Reed Hastings, Netflix ($453.5 billion): Reed Hastings, the co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Netflix, with a wealth of $453.5 billion stands at 4th position as the highest compensated CEO in the world. Netflix went from a DVD mail delivery service to an online streaming giant, under Hastings leadership. However the company also faces increased competition from streaming services and because of this Netflix has recently cut costs after losing subscribers.
Leonard Schleifer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals ( $452.9 billion ): The co-founder and CEO of Regeneron, a biopharmaceutical company, Leonard Schleifer is ranked as the 5th highest paid CEO with wealth of $452.9 billion. His company makes a variety of medications that treat asthma, cancer, chronic pain, and more. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals ranked 231 on this year's Fortune 500. Its revenue rose 89.1% in 2021, driven by the company's REGEN-COV antibody treatment for prevention and treatment of COVID-19.
Marc Benioff, Salesforce ($439.4 billion): The founder of Salesforce, is named as the 6th highest compensated CEO in the world with a $439.4 billion of wealth. He founded Salesforce in 1999, adopting the marketing slogan "The End of Software." The company ranked 136 on this year's Fortune 500. Company's acquisitions of MuleSoft, Tableau, and Slack have helped fuel growth in recent years. Salesforce's revenue rose 24.7% percent in 2021.
Satya Nadella, Microsoft ($309.4 million): The Chief Executive Office of Microsoft, Satya Nadella is the only Indian CEO to be featured in the list of highest paid CEOs in the world for the year 2021. However this year, Nadella was voted the “most underrated” CEO for the sixth consecutive year, according to the survey behind Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies. The Company posted a robust 38% increase in profits previous year—earning $61 billion, the fourth-largest sum among Fortune 500 companies—as revenue rose 17.5% to $168 billion thanks to a successful Surface laptop and tablet launch. Microsoft also suffered from a global chip shortage that challenged Xbox game consoles.
