Trigger Warning! If you are unhappy with you much money you make, we do not recommend you watch/read this story as it is likely to enhance your discontent. Here are the top paid CEOs globally as ranked by Fortune:
Elon Musk
This technoking of Tesla took home a whopping $$23.5 billion as compensation in 2021. But don't sweat this is not his yearly payment from SpaceX and Tesla but also includes some ESOPs he exercised this year.
Tim Cook
The boss at Apple and also topping the leader chart for Time's most influential, Tim Cook took home a handsome $770.5 million in 2021 alone. This also includes a handsome ESOP package that Cook took in, but don't worry he is not the only one getting richer. During his tenure since 2011, Apple's marketcap is up by a whopping $2.2 trillion making investors very happy.
Jensen Huang
The chief at Nvidia Corp, best known for it's chip design, AI work and of course gaming is just a step below Tim Cook on the compensation ladder. This co-founder of NVIDIA took home a hefty paycheck of $561 million.
Reed Hastings
Netflix may not be having a blockbuster quarter but the year gone was a showstopper for the streaming giant and it handed $453 million payout to it's co-founder, CEO, and chairman Hastings as per Fortune. This is however disputed by the OTT platform who reiterated that the total value of his "granted" compensation for 2021: "Per our proxy statement his compensation in 2021 was $40.8 million, with $650,000 in cash and $39.7 million in stock options."
Leonard Schleifer
The lone non tech CEO on the top five, Leonard Schleifer is the top boss at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals an American biotechnology company. The boost for Schleifer's pay comes due to stock option exercising as revenues soared last year due to REGEN-COV antibody treatment for prevention and treatment of COVID-19.