Every spring, top U.S. media outlets and business research organizations begin releasing compensation surveys that detail executive pay levels over the preceding year. These surveys seldom sample the same corporations — or measure pay the same way — and, consequently, almost always generate somewhat different results. This Executive Pay Scorecard compares the various reports released in 2013 on CEO pay for 2012. We also have compiled scorecards that cover executive pay for 2011 [1], 2010 [2], 2009 [3], and 2008 [4].
National Pay Reports |
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| Source | Methodology | Top Pay | Median/Avg | Increase | Worth Noting |
| New York Times [5] June 29, 2013 |
200 highest-paid CEOs in U.S. companies with revenue of over $5 billion. Covers salary, bonus, new stock, perks, but not payouts from previous stock awards. | Larry Ellison, Oracle, $96.2 million | Median: $15.1 million | Median: +16% | Oracle CEO Ellison’s pay packages have earned him a place among the top three highest-paid CEOs for six years in a row. |
| Economic Policy Institute [6] June 26, 2013 |
Covers CEOs of the top 350 firms and includes the value of stock options exercised in a given year. | Average: $14.1 million | Average: +12.7% | Since 1978, CEO pay has jumped 875 percent, over double the stock market’s rise. Typical worker pay has risen 5.4 percent since 1978. | |
| AFL-CIO PayWatch [7] April 15, 2013 |
Tracks 327 major S&P 500 firms. Pay totals do not include the gains realized last year on options awarded in earlier years. | Larry Ellison, Oracle, $96.1 million | Average: $12.3 million | Average: -5% Note: In 2011, Apple’s Tim Cook received $378 million, in 2012 just $4.2 million. Excluding his pay, average CEO pay would have upped 5% in 2012. |
The CEO-worker pay ratio for the year: Executive pay trumped average worker pay by 354 times. |
| USA Today [8] March 27, 2013 |
Covers 170 S&P 500 companies that filed their proxies as of March 22, 2013. Includes salary, bonus, other compensation, stock, and option awards. | Robert Iger, Walt Disney, $37 million | Median: $9.7 million | Median: +8% | Sixteen CEOs weighed in the mega-payout range of $20 million or more, and an additional 63 surpassed $10 million. |
Regional Pay Reports |
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| Source | Methodology | Top Pay | Median/Avg | Increase | Worth Noting |
Economic Sector Pay Reports |
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| Source | Methodology | Top Pay | Median/Avg | Increase | Worth Noting |
| Hedge Funds AR/Alpha [9] April 15, 2013 |
Survey covers the 25 top hedge fund managers. Pay includes the managers’ shares of their firm’s performance and management fees, as well as gains on their own capital invested in their funds. | David Tepper, Appaloosa Management, $52.2 billion | Average: $565.6 million Median: $350 million |
Median: +49% Average: -2% |
Four hedge fund managers gained over $1 billion for the year. |