Immigration to the United States focusing on U.S. immigration economy: The CFO, or Chief Financial Officer, holds the reins of a company's finances, directly impacting its financial security and development prospects. As the right-hand advisors to CEOs, CFOs hold an irreplaceable position of influence within a corporation. Many are curious: how much does this vital yet low-profile role actually earn each year??
"The compensation of U.S. CFOs is generally calculated based on a 'compensation package'," stated the Gaodun CFO Research Institute, "which includes four parts: base salary, bonuses, benefits, and long-term incentives. Stock and equity-based incentives account for a significant proportion of a CFO's total compensation."
10. Williams Partners Energy CFO: David Chalson
Total annual compensation: $16,863,687
In January 2010, Chalson began serving as CFO of the Williams Companies. Prior to this, he had served as a regional CFO for a General Electric subsidiary for 13 years. Recently, he also took over as CFO of GE Americas. During the 9 years prior to joining General Electric, he held financial and operational roles at Continental Oil Company.
In 2014, Chalson's annual salary was $431,776, with a bonus of $608,550, restricted stock incentives of $600,055, non-equity incentive plan compensation of $15,012,398, and other income of $210,908.
9. Antero Midstream Partners Energy Company President & CFO: Glen Warren
Total annual compensation: $18,262,368
Glen has served as President and CFO of Antero since 2014. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Mississippi and an MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles. Prior to this, he was Executive Vice President, CFO, and a Director at Pennaco, and was also an investment banker focused on natural resources, specializing in assets, debt, and mergers.
His base annual salary is $600,000, with stock incentives of $17,051,968, a bonus of $600,000, and other income of $10,400.
8. Comcast Former CFO & Vice Chairman: Michael Angelakis
Total annual compensation: $18,874,452
Comcast is a U.S. provider of cable television, broadband networking, and IP telephone services. Michael has served as the CFO of Comcast for half a decade. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
Annual salary $1,759,331, stock incentives $4,475,224, equity incentives $3,812,724, non-equity incentive plan compensation $5,541,892, and other income $3,285,263.
7. Goldman Sachs CFO: Harvey Schwartz
Total annual compensation: $20,177,797
On January 31, 2013, Schwartz took over the helm as CFO of Goldman Sachs and was also appointed as an Executive Vice President of the company. He has worked at Goldman Sachs for 18 years. He began his tenure at Goldman as a Vice President and was quickly promoted to partner in 2002.
Annual salary $1,850,000, bonus $6,716,667, stock incentives $11,394,315, and other income $216,816.
6. Acxiom CFO & Executive Vice President: Warren Jenson
Total annual compensation: $26,900,457
Acxiom is a recognized giant in marketing technology and services, aiming to help companies leverage information to create maximum value. Jenson serves as CFO and Executive Vice President of the company, and is also the chairman of "Acxiom International." Jenson joined the company in 2012; previously, he served as COO of an internet company and held various positions at Amazon and NBC. Institutional Investor magazine named him one of the "best CFOs in America."
Base annual salary $511,250, stock incentives $25,500,057, equity incentives $510,525, non-equity incentive plan compensation $340,000, and other income $38,625.
5. Valeant Pharmaceuticals CFO & Executive Vice President: Howard Schiller
Total annual compensation: $27,112,617
Schiller began serving as CFO of Valeant International Pharmaceuticals in December 2011. Before moving to Valeant, he worked at Goldman Sachs for 24 years, where he was responsible for industrial management strategy. He is now also an advisor to Valeant.
Annual salary $953,846, stock incentives $23,730,659, non-equity incentive plan compensation $2,400,000, and other income $28,112.
4. Rice Energy CFO & Senior Vice President: Grayson Risenhoover
Total annual compensation: $28,872,714
Grayson became the CFO and Senior Vice President of the energy giant at the age of 29. He started as CFO in 2013 and received the Senior Vice President title in 2015. Before joining Rice, he was an investment expert at Natural Gas Partners, where he was directly involved in the $100 million investment process for Rice. Prior to that, he was an investment banker in the energy group at Barclays.
Annual salary $350,462, stock incentives $28 million, non-equity incentive plan compensation $493,120.
3. Oracle CFO & Chairman: Safra Catz
Total annual compensation: $37,666,750
Safra is the highest-paid female CFO. She has served as Chairman of Oracle Corporation since 2004 and took over the CFO position in April 2011. She also served as interim CFO from November 2005 to September 2008. She has deep roots with Oracle, having joined the tech giant in 1999.
Her annual salary is $950,000, equity incentives over $36 million, non-equity incentive plan compensation $456,236, and other income over $20,014.
2. Google Former CFO & Senior Vice President: Patrick Pichette
Total annual compensation: $43,757,484
From August 2008 to May 2015, Pichette served as CFO and Senior Vice President of Google. Before joining Google, he was an executive at Bell Canada.
His annual salary was $650,000, with a bonus of $3 million, restricted stock incentives of over $40 million, and he also received a total of $72.7 million in "other" rewards from Google during his tenure.
1. Twitter CFO: Anthony Noto
Total annual compensation: $72,768,098
Noto became well-known not only for joining Twitter but also because his compensation as Twitter's CFO was 5,000 times that of the CEO, making headlines. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Noto began his tenure as Chief Financial Officer at Twitter in 2014. Before this, he was a manager in the TMT division at the major investment bank Goldman Sachs and CFO of the National Football League.
Noto's salary was $124,038, with stock incentives of $63,075,000, equity incentives of $9,545,000, and other income of $25,060.