The chief executive officers of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) and QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) have been named the top-earning bosses for 2014, according to new data from the firm Equilar.
In a report for CNBC, Mary Thompson says that the biggest payouts for top executives appear to be for companies in the technology and media group of companies.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s new chief executive, Satya Nadella, leads the pack of highest-paid top executives of 2014 with a pay package of $84 million, Thompson notes. The new CEO’s paycheck was boosted by a massive $79-million stock grant, she adds.
Nadella has been leading Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) as it makes a turnaround from what has often been described in the past as a stagnant business which missed massive opportunities in the mobile space. Sentiment about the company appears to have improved as the company progresses under Nadella’s guidance.
Meanwhile, Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) founder Larry Ellison comes second after Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s top executive as the technology veteran was paid $67 million according to data from Equilar.
Thompson notes that Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)’s Ellison took a pay cut of 14% from 2013. The billionaire also stepped down from the CEO role in 2014.
Following Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)’s founder is QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) Chief Executive Officer Steve Mollenkopf who was paid $60 million last year, the CNBC reporter notes.
What boosted the QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) executive’s pay package for 2014 was a “big options award,” Thompson adds.
Meanwhile, coming after QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) is Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS)’s Bob Iger and CVS Health Corp (NYSE:CVS)’s Larry Merlo who earned $44 million and $24 million respectively in 2014.
Thompson points out that Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) and Berkshire Hathaway hedge fund was the lowest-paid CEO in the Equilar list with a $464,000 paycheck last year.
Thompson notes, however, that this is a preliminary list and is a list of 100 firms based on revenue which disqualifies other firms from the list. For example, Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA) David Zaslav was paid $156 million last year thanks to a 6-year stock grant but the company’s revenue was not enough to qualify for the list.
Furthermore, companies which have not filed reports with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission yet, or have filed after the gathering of data for the report has been completed, are still to be included in the list when the complete Equilar report is released later next month, Thompson adds.
Jeffrey Ubben’s ValueAct Capital owned about 74.24 million Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares by the end of 2014. By the end of the same period, Boykin Curry’s Eagle Capital Management owned about 45.21 million Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) shares. Also by the end of last year, Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management owned about 9.22 million QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) shares.
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