The 25 CEOs whose pay is most wildly out of proportion to shareholder return

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The 25 CEOs whose pay is most wildly out of proportion to shareholder return

bob iger disney mickey mouse

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Who's overpaid? Pictured is Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, who is overcompensated, according to an advocacy group.

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  • Check out which 25 CEOs on the S&P 500 earn a salary that's higher than expected, given shareholder return.
  • The list appears in a report from As You Sow, a nonprofit focused on shareholder advocacy.
  • As You Sow also calculated the ratio of CEO pay to median employee pay.
  • Ronald F. Clarke, CEO of Fleetcor Technologies Inc., took the top spot: He makes about $53 million a year, which means he's overpaid by 263%.

Most CEOs make a lot of money. No surprise there.

In fact, the typical CEO made a whopping 312 times their median employees' salary in 2017, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

But some chief executives earn salaries that are seemingly disproportionate to their company's shareholder returns. A new report from As You Sow, a nonprofit focused on shareholder advocacy, ranks the most "overpaid" leaders on the S&P 500.

To figure out who's overpaid, As You Sow calculated the ratio of CEO pay in 2018 to total shareholder return at each company, as well as the companies where the most shares were voted against the CEO pay package (the first ratio was weighted double).

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Ronald F. Clarke, CEO of Fleetcor Technologies Inc., which makes corporate payment products, took the No. 1 spot. According to the analysis, Clarke is overpaid by 263%. His expected pay based on Fleetcor's performance is $14,483,985; his actual pay is $52,643,810. Per the report, 86% of shareholders voted against Clarke's pay package.

Because there was a change in CEO at a few companies (Oracle Corp., The Walt Disney Co., TransDigm Group, Inc., and Discovery, Inc.), the salary of the higher-paid CEO was counted.

Below, we've listed the 25 most overpaid CEOs, as well as each of their salaries, the median employee salary at their company, and the pay ratio.

Read more: A new study found CEOs at America's biggest companies raked in $19 million on average last year, while workers' pay barely budged

25. Randall Stephenson, AT&T, Inc.

CEO pay: $28,720,720

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Median employee pay: $78,437

Pay ratio: 366:1

24. Reed Hastings, Netflix, Inc.

CEO pay: $24,377,499

Median employee pay: $183,304

Pay ratio: 133:1

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23. Paal Kibsgaard, Schlumberger NV

CEO pay: $20,759,340

Median employee pay: $88,604

Pay ratio: 234:1

22. Brenton Saunders, Allergan Plc

CEO pay: $32,827,626

Median employee pay: $94,064

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Pay ratio: 349:1

Brian Roberts Comcast 8006

Business Insider

Brian Roberts.

21. Brian Roberts, Comcast Corp.

CEO pay: $32,520,224

Median employee pay: $71,006

Pay ratio: 458:1

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20. Ari Bousbib, IQVIA Holdings, Inc.

CEO pay: $38,029,517

Median employee pay: $97,997

Pay ratio: 388:1

19. Richard B. Handler, Jefferies Financial Group, Inc.

CEO pay: $21,787,285

Median employee pay: $44,584

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Pay ratio: 489:1

18. Leonard S. Schleifer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

CEO pay: $26,508,058

Median employee pay: $123,418

Pay ratio: 215:1

17. Mark D. Okerstrom, Expedia Group, Inc.

CEO pay: $30,720,457

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Median employee pay: $71,696

Pay ratio: 428:1

Debra Cafaro

Courtesy of Ventas

Debra Cafaro.

16. Jeffrey A. Miller, Halliburton Co.

CEO pay: $23,078,364

Median employee pay: $79,636

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Pay ratio: 290:1

15. Debra A. Cafaro, Ventas, Inc.

CEO pay: $25,254,607

Median employee pay: $88,630

Pay ratio: 285:1

14. James Cracchiolo, Ameriprise Financial, Inc.

CEO pay: $23,900,309

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Median employee pay: $107,082

Pay ratio: 223:1

13. Gary A. Norcross, Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.

CEO pay: $29,141,610

Median employee pay: $44,556

Pay ratio: 654:1

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12. Stephen Kaufer, TripAdvisor, Inc.

CEO pay: $47,933,462

Median employee pay: $99,643

Pay ratio: 481:1

Margo Georgiadis

REUTERS/Steve Marcus

Margaret Georgiadis.

11. David M. Zaslav, Discovery, Inc.

CEO pay: $42,247,984

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Median employee pay: $80,858

Pay ratio: 522:1

10. E. Hunter Harrison, CSX Corp.

CEO pay: $151,147,286

Median employee pay: $98,697

Pay ratio: 1531:1

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9. Margaret H. Georgiadis, Mattel, Inc.

CEO pay: $31,275,289

Median employee pay: $6,271

Pay ratio: 4,987:1

8. Brian Duperreault, American International Group, Inc.

CEO pay: $43,086,861

Median employee pay: $64,186

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Pay ratio: 671:1

7. W. Nicholas Howley, TransDigm Group, Inc.

CEO pay: $61,023,102

Median employee pay: $46,742

Pay ratio: 1,306:1

Hock Tan Broadcom CEO

Photo by Martin H. Simon - Pool/Getty Images

Hock Tan.

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6. Robert Iger, The Walt Disney Co.

CEO pay: $36,283,680

Median employee pay: $46,127

Pay ratio: 787:1

5. Stephen Wynn, Wynn Resorts Ltd.

CEO pay: $34,522,695

Median employee pay: $44,437

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Pay ratio: 777:1

4. Dirk Van de Put, Mondelez International, Inc.

CEO pay: $42,442,924

Median employee pay: $42,893

Pay ratio: 990:1

3. Hock Tan, Broadcom, Inc.

CEO pay: $103,211,163

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Median employee pay: NA

Pay ratio: NA

2. Mark V. Hurd/Safra Catz, Oracle Corp.

CEO pay: $81,562,244

Median employee pay: $89,887

Pay ratio: 907:1

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1. Ronald F. Clarke, Fleetcor Technologies Inc

CEO pay: $52,643,810

Median employee pay: $34,700

Pay ratio: 1,517:1

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