To The Moon

The era of nine-figure CEO compensation, which seemed to be fading just a year ago, has made a powerful comeback.

Last year saw the highest number of U.S. chief executives breaking the once-rare $100 million annual pay threshold since 2021, with nearly a dozen individuals receiving over $200 million.

Of course, these hefty pay packages pale in comparison to the $158 billion compensation awarded to Elon Musk at Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA). This package set a new record, valued at approximately 16 times the combined pay of the other 391 CEOs in the annual compensation ranking. (Musk's package has a maximum potential value reaching into the trillions of dollars.)

Ranking second is Shankh Mitra of WELLTOWER OP LLC (NYSE: WELL), a real estate investment trust focused on senior housing and healthcare, with total compensation reaching $821 million. Data from MyLogIQ indicates this places him among the highest-paid CEOs of publicly traded U.S. companies over the past decade.

The last time Musk's pay set an industry record was in 2018, which subsequently spurred a wave of so-called "mega-grant" compensation plans. These plans are heavily weighted with stock and option awards tied to ambitious multi-year performance targets. Evidence suggests such packages often fail to deliver the anticipated returns for both executives and investors.

While the previous wave of outsized pay took years to develop, companies now appear to be anticipating a new upward trend in compensation.

More than half of the CEOs who earned over $100 million last year work for companies outside the S&P 500 index and are therefore not included in this ranking. Examples include Dylan Field of design software firm Figma ($864 million) and Kaz Nejatian of online real estate platform Opendoor Technologies ($741 million).

Mega equity grants are not the sole driver of rising pay. Analysis reveals that in 2025, the median compensation for S&P 500 CEOs rose to a record high of nearly $18 million. The number of executives earning over $50 million continues to grow, while the proportion making less than $10 million is shrinking.

Half of all CEOs saw their annual compensation increase by 9.8% or more.

Most large companies primarily compensate their CEOs through stock options and restricted stock units, typically with performance conditions. If a company's long-term performance lags, the number of shares an executive can vest decreases; if targets are met, they receive more. Consequently, the actual value realized by executives often differs significantly from the initial disclosed valuation, usually resulting in higher final payouts.

According to securities filings, 99% of Welltower's Mitra's compensation came from stock awards, including a single grant in October 2025 valued at $789 million. By year-end, the value of the shares underlying that grant had risen to slightly over $1 billion.

Top 10 Executive Compensation Packages for 2025 (Cash, Equity, Other Benefits)

1. Shankh Mitra (WELLTOWER OP LLC)

2. George Kurtz (CrowdStrike)

3. Hock Tan (Broadcom)

4. David Zaslav (Warner Bros. Discovery)

5. Stephen Schwarzman (Blackstone)

6. David Solomon (Goldman Sachs)

7. Nikesh Arora (Palo Alto Networks)

8. Jane Fraser (Citigroup)

9. Charles Scharf (Wells Fargo)

Elon Musk, with his $158 billion all-stock compensation at Tesla Motors, was the highest-paid S&P 500 CEO in 2025. The list above shows the remaining nine executives in the top ten.

Per the agreement, Mitra will vest in half of his awarded shares by 2031, provided he remains employed. The other half is contingent on Welltower achieving a 45% increase in market capitalization and significantly outperforming major stock indices over the next five years.

MyLogIQ data shows Welltower had three other executives with compensation valued over $100 million, making it only the second company in a decade to have four executives reach nine-figure pay in a single year. Welltower stated this equity award is intended to replace bonuses and regular equity grants for the next decade, deeply aligning executive interests with those of shareholders.

The level of executive pay often shows little correlation with shareholder returns.

Online brokerage Robinhood delivered the best shareholder return in this analysis at 204% for the year, while disclosing that its CEO, Vladimir Tenev, received a fixed salary of just $3 million for the period.

Securities filings show Tenev is eligible to vest stock awards granted in 2019, with a current valuation of $1.1 billion. (Tenev and the company canceled a separate 2021 award valued at $796 million.) Robinhood noted the 2019 awards fully vest only if the company's stock price doubles from its 2021 IPO price.

Two companies with highly paid CEOs also delivered strong market performance: Warner Bros. Discovery ranked fourth, with CEO David Zaslav earning $165 million; Broadcom ranked seventh, with CEO Hock Tan receiving total compensation of $205 million.

Both executives have received nine-figure pay packages before: Zaslav earned $247 million in 2021, and Tan earned $162 million in 2023. Broadcom indicated that Tan will not receive new equity awards until 2030, with existing grants vesting only upon the achievement of specific revenue targets for the company's AI business.