Brand Makers
Priya Nair appointed new CEO and MD of Hindustan Unilever, replaces Rohit Jawa
Global uncertainties drive up CEO compensation! From Satya Nadella to Tim Cook, here are top earners
Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook, along with Netflix's co-chief executive officer, Ted Sarandos, and Greg Peters, earned compensation above $60 million, well above the average for leaders in similar roles
Among the top-listed companies of S&P, the lowest gap in the median employee salary versus the CEO was reported at Alphabet Inc., CEO Sundar Pichai earned 32 times the median Alphabet employee salary
The heads of multi-billion dollar companies' salaries have soared massively as their responsibilities in navigating risks and making strategic decisions have become more significant amid the global uncertainties and competition for adoption of AI technology.
According to a report by Adweek, Microsoft's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Satya Nadella emerged as the highest-paid CEO in 2024. His compensation amounted to $79.1 million for 2024, comprising salary, bonuses, equity awards, and other compensation. Nadella's compensation is nearly five times more than the median CEO who runs a company listed in the S&P 500. Citing Equilar, the media report mentioned that the median salary is $16.4 million.
Additionally, Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook, along with Netflix's co-chief executive officer, Ted Sarandos, and Greg Peters, earned compensation above $60 million, well above the average for leaders in similar roles.
Cook's compensation was recorded $74,609,902, while Sarandos earned $61,922,397 and Peters $ 60,272,574 in 2024.
The annual compensation of David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros., stood at $51,918,563 in the same period. Disney's Bob Iger's compensation rose to $40,618,873, and Spotify CEO Daniel Ek salary rose to $667,308.
Notably, Disney's Bob Iger finished the year with the biggest gap. Iger earned 746 times the median Disney employee salary, followed by Cook with 650 times the median Apple employee salary, and Nadella with 408:1.
Among the top-listed companies of S&P, the lowest gap in the median employee salary versus the CEO was reported at Alphabet Inc., CEO Sundar Pichai earned 32 times the median Alphabet employee salary. Pichai's annual compensation stood at $10,319,413 in 2024. A similar trend was seen in Amazon and Meta, wherein Andrew Jassy earned 43 times the median salary of an Amazon employee, and Zuckerberg earned 65 times the median salary of a Meta employee.
SPOTLIGHT
The Storyboard18 Digital Entertainment Summit (DES) unpacked India's strategy for leading the digital entertainment economy, with top policymakers where they putlined how talent, technology, and governance would fuel future-ready growth.
Read MoreIn Photos: At DES 2025, India charts ambitious course for digital entertainment leadership
At the Storyboard18 Digital Entertainment Summit in New Delhi, policymakers and industry leaders outlined how talent, technology, and governance will drive India’s push to dominate the global entertainment economy.