What does a pay cut look like when you're earning $20 million a year? Ask one of the billionaires at the helm of the country's corporate behemoths--nearly every one of them took one in 2015.
The data included here was compiled by executive data company Equilar, and tracks CEO compensation at the 100 largest public U.S. firms (as measured by revenue) that had filed a proxy statement by April 1, 2016. Forbes further narrowed its scope to focus exclusively on the paychecks of billionaire chief executives.
Compensation includes base salary, cash bonuses, stock and option awards by grant date value, and other benefits as listed in the summary compensation tables of each company’s 2015 proxy statement.
Rupert Murdoch is the third highest-paid CEO on Equilar's list, and the overall highest paid billionaire in the group, earning $22.2 million in 2015. Though his compensation decreased slightly from last year, when he earned a total of $23.9 million, Larry Ellison's departure from Oracle puts Murdoch at the top of this list.
Forbes pegs his current net worth (as per our Real Time Ranking on April 22, 2016, where he is listed along with his family) at $12.6 billion.
John C. Martin maintains a spot on this list, earning $18.8 million last year and ranking third highest-paid among the billionaires on this list. The FedEx's CEO's teetering net worth made his spot on last year's list tenuous; today it stands at $1.25 billion.
Meg Whitman remains the lone female to grace these ranks. She earned $17.1 million at the helm of HP last year, making her the fourth highest-paid billionaire on this list. Her net worth currently stands at $2.1 billion.
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Stefano Pessina join the ranks, as does Penske Automotive head Roger Penske. FedEx founder Fred Smith, Sears Holdings CEO Edward Lampert, and Warren Buffett all remain on the list after joining last year.
Though nearly everyone on this list took a paycut last year, Lampert's may have proved most painful--he took a 25% pay decrease since last year. Penske earned one of the only raises, and the largest, with his compensation growing 26%.
The Oracle of Omaha remains the pauper of this ranking, where compensation is concerned (his net worth still tops $68 billion.) His 2015 paycheck? $500,000--a 1% raise from last year.
For the full list of Billionaire CEO Paychecks 2015 with compensation and net worth, click here.
