The title of chief executive officer is synonymous with a big paycheck and when looking at tech companies valued at hundreds of billions, if not trillions, of dollars, the amount such executives make can be similarly astronomical.
It wasn't always so. In the 1960s, 1970s, and even the 1980s, CEO pay was much closer to that of their "typical worker," or someone around the middle of the pay scale, according to a recent study from the Economic Policy Institute, an independent think tank. Over the span of 40 years, CEO pay at major companies grew more than 1,300%, to an average of $24 million, while wages for the typical worker grew by only 12%.
"Importantly, rising CEO pay does not reflect rising value of skills, but rather CEOs' use of their power to set their own pay," EPI wrote in the study. It also noted that the rise in CEO pay "far outstrips" stock market growth, rising 817% compared to the S&P 500 over a 40 year period.
CEO pay has continued to rise substantially since the study. Pay among CEOs in Big Tech is among the highest in the world, according to annual financial disclosures from the largest and most notable tech companies.
The amount these tech executives make in total compensation, between salary, bonuses, and generous stock grants, is often multiples of what the average CEO makes today. And exponentially more than their typical employee. It would take 92 Facebook workers making a typical salary to be paid what Mark Zuckerberg received last year. It would take almost 1,500 Apple workers to make what Tim Cook received.
See below what CEOs of some of the most notable tech companies received in total compensation in 2021:
Andy Jassy, Amazon
Jassy received $212.7 million in total compensation last year, putting him at a ratio of 6,474:1 to the typical Amazon worker. Far above the highest-paid CEO on this list. Amazon stressed in its disclosure that "nearly all of" the CEO's compensation stems from his grant of company stock upon his promotion to the role. The shares are set to vest over 10 years.
Tim Cook, Apple
Cook received $98.73 million in total compensation last year, putting his pay at a ratio of 1,447:1 to the typical Apple employee. As most of Apple's workforce is in its retail locations, the company suggested in its disclosure that its CEO pay ratio "may not be comparable" to that of other companies.
Satya Nadella, Microsoft
Nadella received $49.85 million in total compensation last year, putting him at a ratio of 282:1 to the typical Microsoft employee.
Reed Hastings, Netflix
Hastings received $40.82 million in total compensation last year, putting his pay at a ratio of 201:1 to the typical Netflix employee.
Ted Sarandos, Netflix
Sarandos received $38.23 million in total compensation last year, putting his pay at a ratio of 190:1 to the typical Netflix employee. Although Sarandos and Hastings make the same $34.6 million in base compensation, the difference in pay for 2021 stems from differences in the amount of stock the co-CEOs hold.
Parag Agrawal, Twitter
Agrawal received $30.29 million in total compensation last year, putting him at a ratio of 130:1 to the typical Twitter employee. He only took over in November from founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, but the company used his accepted annual compensation package for the disclosure.
Jensen Huang, Nvidia
Huang received $23.74 million in total compensation last year, putting him at a ratio of 109:1 to the typical Nvidia employee.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook/Meta
Zuckerberg received $26.82 million in compensation last year, putting his pay at a ratio of 92:1 to his typical employee. The company noted in its disclosure his pay last year consisted "almost entirely" of costs related to his personal security. Zuckerberg did not receive an additional stock and his salary is famously $1, but he owns 56.9% of his company's stock and is among the richest people on earth.
Sundar Pichai, Alphabet/Google
Pichai received $6.32 million in total compensation last year, putting him at a ratio of 21:1 to the typical Google employee. This is the same as the pay ratio between CEOs and workers in 1965, according to the EPI study.
