Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

The 30 highest paid CEOs in the US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
Stephen J Hemsley.

There are some chief executive officers who not only get paid millions of dollars, but are also rewarded with shares.

Here we take a look at 30 highest paid CEOs in the Unites States, according to Forbes magazine.

Note: The salary includes exercised stock options and bonuses. For instance, the top earner, Stephen Hemsley, drew $3.3 million in salary and bonus, but also realised $98 million from the exercise of stock options.

1. Stephen J Hemsley

Age: 58

Company: UnitedHealth Group

One-year pay: $101.96 million (prior year data)

Five-year pay: $120.47 million (four-year total)

Shares owned: $111.4 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
Edward A Mueller.

2. Edward A Mueller

Age: 64

Company: Qwest Communications

One-year pay: $65.80 million

Five-year pay: $75.00 million (three-year total)

Shares owned: $36.3 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
Robert A Iger.

3. Robert A Iger

Age: 60

Company: Walt Disney

One-year pay: $53.32 million

Five-year pay: $147.08 million

Shares owned: $43.4 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
George Paz.

4. George Paz

Age: 56

Company: Express Scripts

One-year pay: $51.52 million

Five-year pay: $100.21 million

Shares owned: $79.5 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
Lew Frankfort.

5. Lew Frankfort

Age: 65

Company: Coach

One-year pay: $49.45 million

Five-year pay: $137.87 million

Shares owned: $133.9 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
Ralph Lauren.

6. Ralph Lauren

Age: 71

Company: Polo Ralph Lauren

One-year pay: $43.00 million

Five-year pay: $155.25 million

Shares owned: $3,417.8 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
John C Martin.

7. John C Martin

Age: 59

Company: Gilead Sciences

One-year pay: $42.72 million

Five-year pay: $204.24 million

Shares owned: $76.8 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
James T Hackett.

8. James T Hackett

Age: 57

Company: Anadarko Petroleum

One-year pay: $38.94 million

Five-year pay: $97.38 million

Shares owned: $24.6 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
John T Chambers.

9. John T Chambers

Age: 61

Company: Cisco Systems

One-year pay: $37.90 million

Five-year pay: $170.34 million

Shares owned: $58.0 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
Ivan G Seidenberg.

10. Ivan G Seidenberg

Age: 64

Company: Verizon Communications

One-year pay: $36.75 million

Five-year pay: $130.19 million

Shares owned: $76.5 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
David E I Pyott.

11. David E I Pyott

Age: 58

Company: Allergan

One-year pay: $33.76 million

Five-year pay: $104.60 million

Shares owned: $14.9 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
Gregory T Lucier.

12. Gregory T Lucier

Age: 46

Company: Life Technologies

One-year pay: $33.75 million

Five-year pay: $73.13 million

Shares owned: $15.8 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
Charles D Davidson.

13. Charles D Davidson

Age: 61

Company: Noble Energy

One-year pay: $33.44 million

Five-year pay: $54.96 million

Shares owned: $38.2 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
John H Hammergren.

14. John H Hammergren

Age: 52

Company: McKesson

One-year pay: $32.46 million

Five-year pay: $173.57 million

Shares owned: $42.3 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
Joseph M Tucci.

15. Joseph M Tucci

Age: 63

Company: EMC

One-year pay: $31.63 million

Five-year pay: $86.79 million

Shares owned: $34.1 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
Jen-Hsun Huang.

16. Jen-Hsun Huang

Age: 48

Company: Nvidia

One-year pay: $31.40 million

Five-year pay: $137.25 million

Shares owned: $37 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
Gregory H Boyce.

17. Gregory H Boyce

Age: 56

Company: Peabody Energy

One-year pay: $30.66 million

Five-year pay: $85.07 million

Shares owned: $14.1 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
F H Merelli.

18. F H Merelli

Age: 75

Company: Cimarex Energy

One-year pay: $30.53 million

Five-year pay: $47.44 million

Shares owned: $84.7 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
Samuel J Palmisano.

19. Samuel J Palmisano

Age: 59

Company: IBM

One-year pay: $30.32 million

Five-year pay: $127.80 million

Shares owned: $102.9 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
Louis C Camilleri.

20. Louis C Camilleri

Age: 56

Company: Philip Morris

One-year pay: $30.08 million

Five-year pay: N/A

Shares owned: $103.3 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
Michael D Watford.

21. Michael D Watford

Age: 57

Company: Ultra Petroleum

One-year pay: $30.03 million

Five-year pay: $201.21 million

Shares owned: $156.6 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
Howard D Schultz.

22. Howard D Schultz

Age: 57

Company: Starbucks

One-year pay: $29.73 million

Five-year pay: $159.50 million

Shares owned: $672.0 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
David C Novak.

23. David C Novak

Age: 58

Company: Yum Brands

One-year pay: $29.67 million

Five-year pay: $199.88 million

Shares owned: $13.6 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
Kent J Thiry.

24. Kent J Thiry

Age: 55

Company: DaVita

One-year pay: $29.51 million

Five-year pay: $126.09 million

Shares owned: $15.3 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
David N Farr.

25. David N Farr

Age: 56

Company: Emerson Electric

One-year pay: $28.93 million

Five-year pay: $68.72 million

Shares owned: $80.4 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
Alexander M Cutler.

26. Alexander M Cutler

Age: 59

Company: Eaton

One-year pay: $28.47 million

Five-year pay: $90.23 million

Shares owned: $30.3 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
Howard Solomon with his wife.

27. Howard Solomon

Age: 83

Company: Forest Labs

One-year pay: $27.10 million

Five-year pay: $105.76 million

Shares owned: $35.7 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
Leslie Moonves.

28. Leslie Moonves

Age: 62

Company: CBS

One-year pay: $26.41 million

Five-year pay: $129.93 million

Shares owned: $26.3 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
Richard C Adkerson.

29. Richard C Adkerson

Age: 64

Company: Freeport Copper

One-year pay: $25.29 million

Five-year pay: $179.10 million

Shares owned: $172.8 million

Click NEXT to read more...

30 highest paid CEOs in US

Last updated on: December 21, 2011 15:57 IST
William H Swanson.

30. William H Swanson

Age: 62

Company: Raytheon

One-year pay: $24.88 million

Five-year pay: $97.77 million

Shares owned: $41.9 million