Elon Musk

Tesla and SpaceX CEO is not paid official wages but he has an opportunity to buy the shares of his own automotive company at a huge discount. To take advantage of this perk, the entrepreneur has to prove the efficiency of work notified of in advance. Last year, Tesla’s brilliant financial results enabled Elon Musk to obtain three bonus tranches. Each of the bonuses enabled Elon Musk to buy 8.7 million Tesla shares at $70 apiece while they traded at $977 on the stock exchange. With such moves, the entrepreneur managed to earn a whopping $23 billion for the year.

Robert Scaringe

The founder and CEO of Rivian Automotive is recognized as the main rival of Elon Musk in the electric vehicle market. He is also one of the executives with humongous earnings. According to the payroll, his basic salary equaled a mere $650K last year, but Robert Scaringe added more than $2 billion to his wealth. The main source of the entrepreneur’s income is a solid compensation package, which includes various corporate benefits.

Tim Cook

When Tim Cook ruled Apple Inc. for the 10th year, the IT giant reaped record profits. Such a roaring success brought the entrepreneur a generous reward. Apart from his basic salary which stood at $3 million that year, Tim Cook earned another $12 million as a reward because the company notched its financial goals. Besides, his income comprised $82 million as premium shares and a bunch of corporate perks. Tim Cook’s overall compensation package was worth more than $850 million last year.

Peter Rawlinson

Lucid Motors is another US company manufacturing e-vehicles. Its leader Peter Rawlinson is also one of the highest-paid executives in the world. His annual salary in the payrolls measures just $529K but the actual income is 1,000 times as high as this amount. Last year, Lucid Motors delivered a remarkable performance in various directions which allowed its CEO to obtain 4 tranches out of the 5 possible. With these bonus rewards, the entrepreneur earned an extra $556 million to his salary.

Sue Nabi

Ex-President of Lancôme, Sue Nabi was named CEO of the American multinational beauty company Coty Inc. in 2020 at the peak of the COVID crisis. Since then, the stock of the cosmetics giant ballooned by over 110%. No wonder Sue Nabi was paid a lavish reward. Her official salary in 2021 came in at about $3.5 million. Apart from that, the entrepreneur was rewarded a hefty bonus of $280 million. According to Bloomberg, it is the largest income ever paid to a CEO in the beauty industry.