Highest Paid CEO: Stephen Schwarzman, Blackstone Group

Stephen Schwarzman, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Blackstone Group investment firm, is the highest paid CEO in the United States. According to the Corporate Library, a group which monitors corporate governance on behalf of shareholders, Schwarzman received US$ 702.4 million in compensation last year.

Who decided to pay him that amount? Well, according to the Corporate Library, the entire compensation package “was decided not by a compensation committee but by Mr. Schwarzman himself.” Yup, that’s right. He decided how much he’s gonna get paid. Does that not violate the “conflict of interest” thingie?

Anyhoo, here’s the top ten highest paid CEOs in the U.S.

1. Stephen Schwarzman, $702.4 million, Blackstone Group
2. Lawrence Ellison, Oracle Corp., US$556.9 million
3. Ray Irani, Occidental Petroleum, $222.6 million
4. John Hess, Hess Corporation, $159.6 million
5. Michael Watford, Ultra Petroleum Corp.’s, $116.9 million
6. Aubrey McClendon, Chesapeake Energy, $114.3 million
7. Bob Simpson, XTO Energy, $103.5 million
8. Mark Papa, EOG Resources, $90.5 million
9. Eugene Isenberg, Nabors Industries, $79.3 million
10. Michael Jeffries, Abercrombie & Fitch Co., $71.8 million

Except for Schwarzman (investment), Ellison (software), and Jeffries (fashion), the top ten is dominated by CEOs from energy companies. By the way, you might want to compare this list with the list made by the Associated Press which puts Chesapeake’s McClendon at the top of the heap.

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