How much the top-paid male, female CEOs made in 2021

Here are the highest paid male and female CEOs in the S&P 500 index for 2021, as calculated by The Associated Press and Equilar, an executive data firm.

The AP's compensation study covered 340 executives at S&P 500 companies who have served at least two full consecutive fiscal years at their respective companies, which filed proxy statements between Jan. 1 and April 30. Some companies with highly paid CEOs do not fit these criteria.

Pay for chief executives rose to a median of $14.5 million last year, including salary, stock and other compensation. Median means half the CEOs in the survey made more, and half made less.


Compensation often includes stock and option grants that the CEO may not receive for years unless certain performance measures are met. For some companies, big raises occur when CEOs get a stock or option grant in one year as part of a multi-year grant.