Top 6 Highest-Paid CEOs in 2025 with Salaries in Millions

The highest-paid CEOs of 2025 aren’t just business leaders; they’re headline-makers, meme-fodder, and icons of capitalism. Whether they’re launching rockets, reshaping AI, or redefining streaming, these moguls command boardrooms and news cycles alike.

With earnings that could buy small countries, every move they make is tracked, analyzed, and sometimes satirized. After all, when your bonus rivals a GDP, everyone pays attention.

1. Elon Musk – Tesla

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Elon Musk once again tops the CEO pay list in 2025, earning an astronomical compensation package valued at $23.5 billion. Mostly stock-based, it’s tied to aggressive milestones for Tesla’s growth in autonomous driving, energy storage, and humanoid robotics. Love him or loathe him, Musk’s polarizing brilliance and larger-than-life persona continue to electrify markets and headlines, making him as famous for his tweets as his Teslas.

Salary: ~$23.5 B (performance-based equity)
Years as CEO: 17 years (since 2008)

2. Tim Cook – Apple

There’s never been someone like Warren, and countless people, myself included, have been inspired by his wisdom. It’s been one of the great privileges of my life to know him. And there’s no question that Warren is leaving Berkshire in great hands with Greg. pic.twitter.com/7p5zXtq5hP
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) May 3, 2025

Tim Cook collected a massive $770.5 million in 2025, due to a final tranche of his long-term equity award. Under his calm, steady leadership, Apple continued record-breaking sales, expanded AR/VR efforts, and pushed into health tech. Though rarely flashy, Cook’s results speak volumes. His loyalty to Apple’s core and precision in execution keep him among the most respected CEOs of all time.

Salary: ~$770.5 M
Years as CEO: 14 years (since 2011)

3. Jensen Huang – NVIDIA

NVIDIA’s AI surge catapulted Jensen Huang’s 2025 pay to $561 million. With GPUs powering everything from ChatGPT to self-driving cars, Huang’s vision positioned NVIDIA as the foundational tech firm of the AI era. His geek-to-kingpin rise is Silicon Valley legend, and his black leather jacket? Practically a trademark. Huang is the architect behind the chips shaping tomorrow’s world.

Salary: ~$561 M
Years as CEO: 32 years (since co-founding in 1993)

4. Reed Hastings – Netflix

Reed Hastings bagged $453.5 million this year, rewarded for evolving Netflix from a streaming giant to a global content empire with studios, games, and AI-enhanced personalization. Though he stepped back from day-to-day duties, his role as Executive Chairman keeps him in the strategic driver’s seat. Hastings remains a media mastermind, having disrupted Hollywood and now writing its next chapter.

Salary: ~$453.5 M
Years as CEO: 25 years (1998–2023), now Executive Chairman

5. Leonard Schleifer – Regeneron

Leonard Schleifer earned $452.9 million in 2025, leading Regeneron’s leap in biopharma breakthroughs, particularly in cancer and immunology. A rare founder-CEO in the pharmaceutical world, Schleifer blends scientific knowledge with business savvy. His long tenure and innovation-led growth have made Regeneron a biotech powerhouse, and his pay reflects the stakes of leading in high-risk, high-reward medicine.

Salary: ~$452.9 M
Years as CEO: 36 years (since 1988)

6. Marc Benioff – Salesforce

Marc Benioff pulled in $439.4 million thanks to a dynamic year of cloud innovation, AI integration, and bold acquisitions. Always the showman, Benioff mixes capitalism with activism—from employee rights to climate change. His leadership helped Salesforce expand into vertical markets and remain a CRM titan. He’s as comfortable on a keynote stage as in a boardroom, always a headline away from trending.