16 Highest-Paid CEOs in Financial Services

Start Slideshow

The 15th edition of the Equilar 200, which analyzes pay packages awarded to chief executives at U.S. public companies during fiscal year 2021, showed that median total CEO compensation surged to $23.2 million in 2021, a 29.4% increase from the previous year.

The Equilar 200 includes the largest pay packages awarded to CEOs from U.S.-based or listed companies with more than $1 billion in revenue that filed proxy statements for fiscal year 2021 by April 30, 2022.

In this year’s study, published in partnership with The New York Times, 12 CEOs received compensation valued at more than $100 million in 2021. Eight of those CEOs were awarded pay packages valued above $200 million, with two receiving packages exceeding $500 million.

Over the past two years, many companies elected to award their CEOs for staying in their role and guiding their companies through the uncertainty of the pandemic with large stock awards, according to the report. In 2021, Equilar 200 CEOs were awarded a median of $14 million in stock awards — a 14.4% increase from last year’s study.

The CEO pay ratio at Equilar 200 companies reached 298:1 in 2021, a jump from 274:1 in 2020. While the overall rise in pay and increased prevalence of massive pay packages for Equilar 200 CEOs contributed to a larger ratio, median employee pay increased just 1% in 2021 to $81,645 at these companies, compared with a nearly 30% increase in pay for CEOs.

Median revenue for companies was $16.8 billion in 2021, while the median revenue increase at individual companies was 19%.

See the gallery for the 16 highest-paid CEOs in financial services.

Start Slideshow