Tim Cook has ranked number one in CNBC‘s list of the highest paid American CEOs. With an average compensation of a whopping $95 million over the past five years, the Apple chief has a comfortable lead over Larry Ellison, second and Ron Johnson, third.
Interestingly, both Ellison and Johnson have strong ties with Apple. The former was a close friend of Steve Jobs, while the latter was the VP of Retail at the Cupertino company before leaving to take over as CEO of JCPenney. Ellison received $70 million in compensation, while Johnson received $53 million.
Quite a few tech CEOs feature in the top ten, and that just shows how far the industry has come over the past couple of decades.
CNBC’s ranking supports rankings done by the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal earlier this year.
