The $100-million-plus CEO is back with a bang, with more US CEOs crossing the once-rare pay threshold than in any year since 2021. Nearly a dozen topped $200 million, with Elon Musk's $158 billion pay package from Tesla setting a new record.
Shankh Mitra reached $821 million from Welltower, a real-estate investment trust, making it one of the biggest executive-pay packages for a public-company CEO over the past decade.
Companies seem to be anticipating a shift, with over half the CEOs making over $100 million last year running companies outside the S&P 500.
Moonshots weren't the only factor pushing up pay, with median CEO pay rising to nearly $18 million at S&P 500 companies in 2025, a new high.
At Welltower, 99% of Mitra's pay came from stock grants, including $789 million awarded in October.
Three other Welltower executives also received packages valued at more than $100 million apiece, making it only the second company in a decade to have four nine-figure executives in a single year.
