Oracles' Ellison is Highest Paid CEO

Aug 22, 2008

Oracle Corp.'s Larry Ellison topped the list of the 10 highest-paid CEOs at Standard & Poor's 500 companies, with a fiscal 2008 pay package of $84.6 million, according to a new report.

Ellison's 2008 pay jumped 38 percent compared to the $61.2 pay package he received the previous year, according to the Associated Press. Annual pay totals are based on salary, bonuses, incentives and perks.

Oracle granted Ellison options valued at $71.4 million during 2008, which easily beat the stock option gains of other chief executives.

"In a year when stock prices are depressed for so many companies in the U.S., cases like this, where an executive realizes huge sums from the exercise of stock options, will probably be few and far between in 2008," said Alexander Cwirko- Godycki, a research manager at Equilar, an executive compensation research firm, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

Ellison, Oracle's largest shareholder, recommended how much he should be paid, according to AP.

Ellison is the world's 14th richest person, with a net worth of roughly $25 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

Below is a list of the 10 highest-paid CEOs at S&P 500 companies for 2007.

1. Larry Ellison, Oracle Corp., $84.6 million

2. John Thain, Merrill Lynch & Co., $83.1 million

3. Leslie Moonves, CBS Corp., $67.6 million

4. Richard Adkerson, Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc., $65.3 million

5. Bob Simpson, XTO Energy Inc., $56.6 million

6. Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., $54.0 million

7. Kenneth Chenault, American Express Co., $51.7 million

8. Eugene Isenberg, Nabors Industries Ltd., $44.6 million

9. John Mack, Morgan Stanley, $41.7 million

10. Glenn Murphy, Gap Inc., $39.1 million

-List provided by AP.