Microsoft's Ballmer Tops Wealthiest US CEOs List Despite Reduced 2012 Bonus
NEW YORK, July 31, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- With a fortune of US$17 billion, Microsoft's Steve Ballmer is the wealthiest chief executive amongst those heading the 30 largest publicly-listed US firms. This comes despite Ballmer being the lowest paid Dow Jones CEO in 2012, taking home US$1.3 million in total compensation compared to peers who earned up to US$40 million.
Wealth-X, the ultra high net worth (UHNW) intelligence provider, compiled the list from proxy statements filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission regarding firms listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average benchmark index.
Ballmer received a 2012 fiscal bonus of US$620,000, less than half the possible maximum bonus of US$1.37 million. Microsoft trimmed pay for its executives last year, citing slower-than-planned growth in its online services division and a US$732 million fine for failure to comply with European regulators.
The second wealthiest CEO is Meg Whitman of Hewlett-Packard, the only female chief executive in the Wealth-X ranking. Although her 2012 base salary was just US$1, Whitman took home more than US$15 million in compensation. The former eBay chief was brought in to help turn the company around and has joined other "dollar-a-year" tech executives such as Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Google's Larry Page and Oracle's Larry Ellison, who have agreed to tie their compensations closely to company performance.
| Rank |
Name |
Company |
Net Worth (US$ million) |
2012 Total Pay (US$ million) |
2012 Salary (US$ million) |
Salary % of Total Pay |
| 1 |
Steve Ballmer |
Microsoft |
17,000 |
1.3 |
0.685 |
52.0% |
| 2 |
Meg Whitman |
Hewlett-Packard |
1,200 |
15.3 |
US$1 |
0.1% |
| 3 |
Stephen J. Hemsley |
UnitedHealth Group |
480 |
13.8 |
1.3 |
9.4% |
| 4 |
John T. Chambers |
Cisco Systems |
430 |
11.6 |
0.375 |
3.2 % |
| 5 |
Louis R. Chênevert |
United Technologies |
430 |
27.5 |
1.7 |
6.2% |
Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan Chase CEO, is the only banking executive to make the list with a fortune estimated at US$340 million. His pay packet was halved in 2012 to just under $19 million following the 2011 'London whale' trading debacle that triggered a US$6 billion loss at America's largest bank by assets.
For the full top ten list, visit http://www.wealthx.com/articles/2013/microsofts-ballmer-tops-wealthiest-us-ceos-list-despite-reduced-2012-bonus
About Wealth-X
Wealth-X provides detailed intelligence on ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals globally. The firm's Wealth-X Professional solution is the standard for banking, marketing and not-for-profit professionals working with the ultra affluent. (www.wealthx.com)
For media queries, contact [email protected]
SOURCE Wealth-X
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