Hock Tan Tops CEO Pay Rankings with $162 Million Package

Hock Tan, CEO of Broadcom Inc., led the Associated Press’s executive compensation survey with a package valued at approximately $162 million. This includes stock awards worth $160.5 million granted on October 31, 2022, for Broadcom’s 2023 fiscal year. Tan could potentially earn up to 1 million shares starting in fiscal 2025 if Broadcom’s stock achieves specific targets and he remains CEO for five years.

At the time of the award, Broadcom’s stock was trading at $470. Tan would earn portions of the stock awards if the stock price reached $825 and $950 and the full award if the average closing price was at or above $1,125 for 20 consecutive days between October 2025 and October 2027. Initially ambitious, these targets have become attainable as Broadcom’s stock surged to an all-time high of $1,436.17 on May 28.

Broadcom, like Nvidia Inc., benefits from the booming interest in artificial intelligence, with its chips utilized by a diverse array of businesses, including major banks, retailers, telecom operators, and government bodies. Broadcom highlighted that under Tan’s leadership, its market value increased from $3.8 billion in 2009 to $645 billion as of May 23, with total shareholder returns far exceeding those of the S&P 500. The company also noted that Tan will not receive additional stock awards during the five-year period.

Other top earners in the AP survey include William Lansing of Fair Isaac Corp. ($66.3 million), Tim Cook of Apple Inc. ($63.2 million), Hamid Moghadam of Prologis Inc. ($50.9 million), and Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix ($49.8 million). Notably, Cook’s compensation decreased 36% from the previous year after he requested a pay cut for 2023. This was followed by shareholder disapproval at Apple’s 2022 annual meeting, where only 64% approved of his pay package.

The survey excluded certain CEOs, such as Nikesh Arora of Palo Alto Networks ($151.4 million) and Christopher Winfrey of Charter Communications ($89 million), due to its methodology. While Elon Musk received no official compensation as Tesla Inc.’s CEO, his pay remains a hot topic as he seeks to restore a pay package invalidated by a Delaware judge, who criticized the approval process as “deeply flawed.” Musk’s 2018 stock award, valued at $2.3 billion at the time, is now estimated to be worth around $45 billion, although he has yet to cash out any portions of those awards.

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