CEOs making big bucks

Amgen Chief Executive Kevin Sharer made $21.1 million in 2010. The following executives were the highest paid among firms on the S&P 500 Index, according to an analysis by S&P CapitalIQ of the companies’ most recent proxy statements.

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20. Randall L. Stephenson, AT&T

Compensation: $27.3 million. The telecom company Stephenson leads recently proposed a $39 billion merger with competitor T-Mobile, a deal which the Justice Department has moved to block.

Harry Hamburg / ASSOCIATED PRESS

19. William C. Weldon, Johnson & Johnson

Compensation: $28.7 million. The chairman and chief executive of the New Jersey-based pharmaceutical and health company has been employed there since 1971.

Mel Evans / AP

18. Rex W. Tillerson, Exxon Mobil

Compensation: $29 million. The oil conglomerate that Tillerson oversees has frequently ranked as the world's most valuable company, though Apple has rivaled it for that title since August.

Jason Janik / BLOOMBERG

17. Thomas M. Ryan, CVS Caremark

Compensation: $29 million. Under Ryan's leadership, the drug store chain expanded broadly and acquired rivals including Eckerd and Caremark. Ryan retired in May and was replaced by Larry Merlo.

DANIEL BARRY / BLOOMBERG NEWS

16. Eli Harari, SanDisk

Compensation: $29.5 million. A 2010 USA Today profile of Harari credits him with turning the company he founded "into a $3.6 billion enterprise whose storage devices are used in thousands of products from iPods to digital cameras and smartphones. Along the way, he helped redefine an entire product category — flash memory — that fomented the digital photography revolution."

Tomohiro Ohsumi / BLOOMBERG

15. Robert A. Iger, Walt Disney

Compensation: $29.6 million. Iger took the helm of the entertainment company in 2005 after serving as its president and chief executive officer for five years. The Los Angeles Times reported that his 2010 salary marked a 35 percent increase over his previous year's compensation, a decision that the Times said Disney's board of directors' compensation committee made based on his "exceptional performance" even as the U.S. economy stumbled.

Katy Winn / AP

14. Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren Corporation

Compensation: $29.7 million. An iconic designer of classic American sportswear, Ralph Lauren founded his eponymous clothing collection in 1967.

Richard Drew / AP Photo

13. Brian L. Roberts, Comcast

Compensation: $31 milllion. Roberts leads of the nation's largest providers of television and Internet services. In January, the FCC approved Comcast's merger with broadcasting firm NBC-Universal.

SUZANNE PLUNKETT / ASSOCIATED PRESS

12. Samuel J. Palmisano, IBM

Compensation: $31.7 million. Palmisano took the helm of the information technology and consulting giant in 2003 after a two-year stint as president and chief operating officer. Pictured here, second from right, he rings the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his company.

Richard Drew / AP

11. John F. Lundgren, Stanley Black & Decker

Compensation: $32.7 million. Lundgren has led the New Britain, Conn.-based household appliance company since 2004.

Anonymous / AP

10. Michael D. White, DIRECTV

Compensation: $32.9 million. After six years heading up soft drink purveyor Pepsi, White made the leap to the digital television industry to lead DirecTV.

Adam Berry / BLOOMBERG NEWS

9. Rupert Murdoch, News Corp.

Compensation: $33.3 million. The longtime executive of the media conglomerate was entangled in a scandal this year when he shuttered his News of the World tabloid amid allegations of phone-hacking by some of the publication's journalists.

BEN STANSALL / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

8. Richard C. Adkerson, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold

Compensation: $39.5 million. Adkerson is chief executive of the Phoenix, Ariz.-based mining company. He is also chairman of the International Council on Mining and Metals.

Ramin Talaie / BLOOMBERG

7. David Zaslav, Discovery Communications

Compensation: $42.6 million. This media company leader's salary has jumped sharply from its 2008 level, which was $7.9 million. In part, this is because the company generally aims executive pay at between the median and 75th percentile of a group of companies it calls peers. However, when setting executive pay, Discovery compared itself to "peers" that were much larger and more established.

Jonathan Alcorn / BLOOMBERG

6. John H. Hammergren, McKesson Corporation

Compensation: $46.1 million. The health-care services company that Hammergren leads drew an impressive $108 billion in revenue this year, according to Fortune magazine.

David Maxwell / BLOOMBERG

5. Leslie Moonves, CBS Corporation

Compensation: $57.7 million. Moonves's media empire includes the CBS, Showtime and CW television networks, among other brands.

/ Getty Images

4. Tim Cook, Apple

Compensation: $57.8 million. Cook took over the tech giant after its iconic chief executive Steve Jobs resigned in August. (Note: Cook was serving as chief operating officer, not chief executive officer, at the time of Apple's last proxy statement.)

Ramin Talaie / BLOOMBERG

3. Ray R. Irani, Occidental Petroleum

Compensation: $76.1 million. This Beirut native left his post as the oil and gas company's chief executive in May and now serves as its executive chairman.

Anonymous / AP

2. Lawrence J. Ellison, Oracle

Compensation: $77.6 million. Ellison is the co-founder and chief executive of the Silicon Valley software and database technology firm.

Paul Sakuma / AP

1. Philippe P. Dauman, Viacom

Compensation: $84.5 million. Dauman is the chief executive and president of a media company whose brands include Paramount Pictures, MTV, VH1, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, among others.

Evan Agostini / AP

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Business

CEOs making big bucks

Amgen Chief Executive Kevin Sharer made $21.1 million in 2010. The following executives were the highest paid among firms on the S&P 500 Index, according to an analysis by S&P CapitalIQ of the companies’ most recent proxy statements.

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