For a Few CEOs, Pay Keeps Growing—by the Billions

Big stock awards have grown much bigger for chief executives of Palantir and Broadcom

- Theo Francis

It is the latest ultraexclusive achievement for chief executives of the biggest U.S. companies: the billion-dollar year. Two bosses made it last year—holding stock-based pay that swelled in value by at least 10 figures in a single year. Alexander Karp clocked more than $6 billion in gains at government intelligence contractor Palantir Technologies. Hock Tan's pay grew by $1.15 billion at chip maker Broadcom.

Only two other S&P 500 CEOs have hit that mark in recent years, according to data from public-company data provider MyLogIQ. Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global's Brian Armstrong in 2021, at $2.1 billion, and—naturally—Elon Musk. The Tesla CEO can boast billion-dollar gains in three years, including a record of $43 billion in 2020, though all are part of a pay package that a Delaware court declared invalid. On Sunday, Tesla granted Musk a new, "interim" stock award that it tentatively valued at $23.7 billion, with the promise of more this fall.

The outsize gains, while still rare, show how today's CEO pay packages can swell far beyond their original valuations through a combination of soaring share prices and multipliers tied to company-performance targets. The billion-dollar gains are all the more notable because fewer big-company CEOs have been receiving pay packages initially valued at $100 million or more.

These gains reflect only changes in the value of stock and option awards the executives received as part of their continuing compensation, and before vesting, when the CEOs can generally sell, hold or exercise as they see fit. Not included: The often sizable stakes that CEOs, especially founders, hold outright in their companies, which can also gain or lose value over time.