The average short-term incentive (STI) award granted to CEOs in the S&P500 last year was $1.4 million, while an average of $11.2 million was granted under long-term incentive (LTI) plans.

Below, Diligent Market Intelligence (DMI) takes a closer look at some of the largest bonus payouts in the index, with DMI’s Compensation module.

Largest bonuses

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai – $218 million

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai’s bonus for 2022 was 109 times greater than his base salary of $2 million. The head of Google’s parent company received his full bonus from stock awards. Prior to 2022, Pichai had not received a bonus since 2019, when he was granted an award of $277 million.

Live Nation Entertainment CEO Michael Rapino – $128.7 million

Having not received a bonus larger than $12 million since 2017, Live Nation Entertainment awarded its CEO Michael Rapino a bonus of nearly $129 million for 2022. Rapino’s bonus, which was 43 times larger than his $3-million base salary, comprised of a $12-million non-equity incentive plan bonus and a $116.7-million share award. Investors revolted against Live Nation’s compensation proposal at its June 9 annual meeting, with 53.6% of votes cast against. Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) was among the investor groups to raise concerns regarding the “excessive” level of base pay increase and target bonus opportunity.

Apple CEO Tim Cook – $95 million

Apple boss Tim Cook earned over 30 times more from his granted bonus package than his base salary in 2022. His bonus package was largely in line with that received in 2021 and consisted of a $12-million annual cash bonus and around $83 million in stock awards. The tech giant’s “say on pay” plan was met with 11% opposition at its March annual meeting, with LGIM raising concerns that the company had been too reliant on one performance metric to justify the vesting of awards.

American International Group Chairman and CEO Peter Zaffino – $73.5 million

American International Group Chairman and CEO Peter Zaffino is the only top executive to have been given one of the top five largest bonuses this year, but with some portion of that bonus coming from option awards. $3.2 million of Zaffino’s $73.5-million bonus package was derived from options, $7.8 million as his annual cash bonus and the remaining $62.4 million in stock awards. Zaffino was granted roughly five times more in bonus compensation for 2022 than that awarded in 2021. The global insurance organization saw its pay plan rejected by almost 68% of its shareholders at its May annual meeting. Investors such as Calvert Research and Management and Pictet Asset Management cited substantial increases in the awards given to Zaffino in their rationales for voting against.

Broadcom CEO Hock Tan – $59.3 million

Broadcom CEO Hock Tan’s bonus was in line with that received in 2021 and was nearly 50 times larger than his base salary of $1.2 million. The bonus comprised $53.9 million in share awards, with the rest awarded as a non-equity incentive plan bonus. The semiconductor company’s pay plan was rejected by 68% of its investors when it came before its April annual meeting with investor groups warning that the annual bonus has the potential for a significant amount of committee discretion. Compensation committee Chair Harry You also encountered pushback with over 39% of investors voting against his reelection. In voting against the pay plan for the fifth year, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) flagged failures to respond to existing shareholder concerns surrounding Broadcom’s compensation practices.

According to DMI data, almost 3% of CEOs in the index did not receive any bonus in 2022. Long-term bonus payments were not granted to 4.6% of CEOs, while 10.7% of the top S&P500 executives did not receive a short-term bonus payment.

Meta Platforms founder, Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg – $0

In line with previous years, Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg did not receive a bonus in 2022. While he did not participate in the bonus plan and recorded a nominal base salary of $1, the tech chief was awarded total granted compensation of $27.1 million from benefits provided to him by the company. These were largely based on a personal and family security program. Zuckerberg, who is Meta’s largest and controlling shareholder, saw his total compensation package increase by almost 16% in the last three years.

Synopsys Former co-CEO Chi-Foon Chan – $0

Synopsys former co-CEO Chi-Foon Chan forfeited his opportunity to earn a bonus in 2022 following his departure from the semiconductor company in April of that year and was compensated with a $336,000 base salary as well as benefits and reimbursements. However, his realized compensation for the period included an LTI options payment of $32.4 million with an additional $10.9 million from shares.

Expedia Group Vice Chairman and CEO Peter Kern – $0

Expedia Group Vice Chairman and CEO Peter Kern did not receive a bonus in 2022 with his pay consisting of a $1-million base salary as well as benefits and expenses. However, as head of the online travel company, Kern had been awarded a bonus of over $296 million in 2021 – 705 times more than that granted in 2020. At Expedia’s May 31 annual meeting, its “say on pay” proposal was rejected by 43% of shareholders, with investors such as Active Super and Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS), both opting against due to “concerning pay practices.”

Howmet Aerospace Executive Chairman and CEO John Plant – $0

Howmet Aerospace Executive Chairman and CEO John Plant has not received a short-term incentive bonus since 2019. In 2022, he also failed to secure any long-term incentive bonus and recorded a total granted pay package of $1.7 million. However, his total realized compensation for the period was $19.5 million which included an LTI payment of $17.8 million. Following shareholder feedback received in 2022, Plant’s compensation structure is set to change from 2023 onwards to include an annual cash incentive, with CEO annual equity awards changing from 2024 onwards.

Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett – $0

As is now customary, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffet did not receive a bonus in 2022 and maintained his $100,000 base salary as well as just over $300,000 in other compensation, which the company cited as related to costs for personal and home security services. Buffet’s total compensation package has increased by over 7% in the last three years.