Exorbitant CEO salaries is an issue that has increasingly come under microscopic scrutiny in recent years. While many believe that CEO compensation packages have inexplicably skyrocketed, some, like JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, have casually dismissed the notion altogether.
In the tech world in particular, where the importance and pressure of making decisive and strategic decisions is arguably amplified, CEOs are unquestionably living large. Though not everyone is balling like former Oracle CEO Larry Ellison — who owns an island, a mega-yacht, 2 military jets, and many more extravagant toys — life at the top is still pretty good for those keeping things interesting in Silicon Valley.
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That being the case, below is a rundown of the 10 highest-paid tech CEOs based on the aggregate of their 2014 salaries, bonuses, stock awards, and other forms of compensation.
1. Satya Nadella, Microsoft – $84 million
It’s good to be king. It’s also good to be the CEO of Microsoft. Thanks to a generous stock compensation package, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella tops this list. And given that he’s done an impressive job of making Microsoft relevant and interesting again, I doubt any Microsoft shareholders are complaining.
2. Steve Mollenkopf, Qualcomm – $60 million
A 20 year Qualcomm vet, Mollenkopf has been with the company for the majority of its existence. Before assuming the CEO position, Mollenkopf was the company’s COO where he helped oversee investments in 3G and 4G products.
3. Marissa Mayer, Yahoo – $42 million
A former Googler, Mayer in 2012 took on the challenging job of turning Yahoo around. Though it’s been a bumpy road, Mayer has slowly but surely made a number of moves to transform the company into a more nimble and influential technology company.
4. Marc Benioff, Salesforce – $39 million
A seemingly beloved CEO, Benioff is already a billionaire many times over. In 2014, his compensation package checked in at just a tad under $40 million.
5. Brian Roberts, Comcast – $32 million
As the CEO of what some might call the most hated (or perhaps most frustrating) company on the planet, CEO Brian Roberts in 2014 enjoyed a compensation package worth $32 million. Clearly, he can afford any charges that might result from going over his monthly data cap.
6. David Cote, Honeywell International – $29 million
Though you might associate Honeywell with thermostats, the New Jersey based company is a jack of all trades with products in markets as varied as the consumer space and the aerospace industry. Prior to joining Honeywell in 2002, Cote spent two decades at General Electric and about 13 years as the president and COO of TRW.
7. Randall Stephenson, AT&T – $23 million
An Oklahoma boy, Stephenson has been the CEO of AT&T for 8 years now.
8. Ursula M. Burns, Xerox – $22 million
The first African-American CEO of a Fortune 500 company, Burns has been the CEO of Xerox since 2009. A Xerox vet through and through, Burns’ career with the document technology company stretches all the way back to 1980 when she spent a few months working there as a summer intern in the mechanical engineering department.
9. Virginia Rometty, IBM – $19.3 million
Rometty, who began her career at IBM in 1981, has been the CEO of big blue since 2012.
10. Meg Whitman, HP – $19.6 million
A seasoned executive educated at both Princeton and Harvard, Whitman’s long career has seen her serve in various roles at Walt Disney, DreamWorks, Proctor & Gamble, and Hasbro. Formerly the CEO of eBay, Whitman has been the CEO of HP in 2011.
