Business
Which Manufacturer is Winning the Smartphone Patent War?
Which Smartphone Maker is Winning the Patent War?
Ever since the dawn of the smartphone era, hardware makers such as Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, LG, and Nokia have been engaged in a costly patents arms race. Every new patent on file furthers the case for the manufacturer’s legitimacy. Without any of this ammo, a manufacturer must capitulate against the crushing legal forces touted by the big boys.
The legal battles have costed manufacturers billions and there are no shortage of examples of companies posturing in the patent arena. In 2011, Google bought Motorola primarily because it valued the company’s patents at $5.5 billion. Meanwhile, Microsoft made more money from patent licenses in 2013 than it did in licenses for its actual Windows Phone. A recent study estimated that for a $400 smartphone, the cost of royalties alone is more than $120 – at least equal to the value of the components themselves.
Steve Jobs even famously claimed that the Android itself was “grand theft” from Apple. “I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple’s $40bn in the bank, to right this wrong. I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this,” Jobs said.
This infographic sums up the most recent stats in the smartphone patent war.
If you were to ask us who is winning? Probably the lawyers.
Original graphic from: Protect Your Bubble
Money
Ranked: The Highest Paid CEOs in the S&P 500
This graphic reveals the top 20 highest paid CEOs in the S&P 500 from Sundar Pichai to Jamie Dimon.

Ranked: The Highest Paid CEOs in the S&P 500
Many of the world’s most valuable companies are listed on the S&P 500, the benchmark index for the U.S. stock market.
For this reason, it is no surprise to see that CEOs of these key companies have multi-million dollar compensation packages. But what do these pay packages comprise? And do these CEOs always receive the compensation they are awarded? Or does it increase and decrease with stock market fluctuations?
In today’s infographic, we use data published by The Wall Street Journal to show the highest paid CEOs of S&P 500 companies in 2022, and delve into what their compensation includes.
The 20 Highest Paid CEOs
The compensation packages of CEOs of S&P 500 companies comprise not just salaries, but bonuses, stock awards, and other incentives.
Here are the CEOs of S&P 500 companies that were awarded the highest pay packages last year, and the sectors they belong to.
CEO | Company | Sector | Total Pay |
---|---|---|---|
Sundar Pichai | Alphabet | Communication Services | $226M |
Michael Rapino | Live Nation Entertainment | Communication Services | $139M |
Tim Cook | Apple | Info Tech | $99M |
Peter Zaffino | American International Group | Financials | $75M |
Hock Tan | Broadcom | Info Tech | $61M |
Vicente Reynal | Ingersoll Rand | Industrials | $55M |
Reed Hastings | Netflix | Communication Services | $51M |
Theodore Sarandos | Netflix | Communication Services | $50M |
Hamid Moghadam | Prologis | Real Estate | $48M |
Stephen Squeri | American Express | Financials | $48M |
James Gorman | Morgan Stanley | Financials | $39M |
David Zaslav | Warner Bros. Discovery | Communication Services | $39M |
William McDermott | ServiceNow | Info Tech | $39M |
Mark Begor | Equifax | Industrials | $37M |
Darren W. Woods | Exxon Mobil | Energy | $36M |
David Simon | Simon Property Group | Real Estate | $36M |
James Dimon | JPMorgan Chase | Financials | $35M |
Julie Sweet | Accenture | Info Tech | $34M |
Albert Bourla | Pfizer | Medical | $33M |
Laurence Fink | BlackRock | Financials | $33M |
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, topped the list with an awarded pay package valued at around $226 million, which was over 800 times Google’s median employee compensation. His pay package included his annual salary of $2 million, a sum of $6 million for his personal security and stock awards valued at $218 million.
Meanwhile, Live Nation Entertainment CEO Michael Rapino’s awarded pay package shot up to $139 million in 2022 from almost $14 million the previous year. This included stock awards initially valued at $116 million. Tech companies Apple and Broadcom were not far behind. While Apple CEO Tim Cook’s compensation package was valued at $99 million in 2022, Broadcom’s president and CEO Hock Tan was awarded $61 million.
Other CEOs that made it to the list include global insurance giant AIG’s CEO, Peter Zaffino, and Netflix’s co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Reed Hastings. While Hastings received a $10 million hike last year, he stepped down from this role in January 2023.
Rising Median CEO Income Hits a Wall
Over the last decade, the median pay awarded to CEOs across S&P 500 companies has doubled.
Year | Median Total Compensation for S&P 500 CEOs | Change (%) |
---|---|---|
2010 | $7.68M | n/a |
2011 | $7.56M | -2% |
2012 | $6.96M | -8% |
2013 | $7.95M | 14% |
2014 | $9.35M | 18% |
2015 | $9.72M | 4% |
2016 | $9.93M | 2% |
2017 | $10.62M | 7% |
2018 | $11.81M | 11% |
2019 | $12.20M | 3% |
2020 | $13.43M | 10% |
2021 | $14.67M | 9% |
2022 | $14.50M | -1% |
In 2021, this number hit a high of $14.7 million.
However, in 2022, the median CEO compensation package hit a wall for the first time in a decade as it slightly fell to $14.5 million.
Compensation Actually Paid
A compensation package dependent on market valuation means that these CEOs may receive more or less than the pay they are slated to receive.
This is because most stock awards aren’t granted when announced, but instead vest over time, becoming subject to changes in share prices.
In 2022, the SEC introduced new disclosure rules for companies to report this realized value for executive pay packages, appropriately called “compensation actually paid.”
CEO | Company | Total Pay | Compensation Paid |
---|---|---|---|
Sundar Pichai | Alphabet | $226M | $116M |
Michael Rapino | Live Nation Entertainment | $139M | $36M |
Tim Cook | Apple | $99M | N/A |
Peter Zaffino | American International Group | $75M | $91M |
Hock Tan | Broadcom | $61M | N/A |
Vicente Reynal | Ingersoll Rand | $55M | $51M |
Reed Hastings | Netflix | $51M | $50M |
Theodore (Ted) Sarandos | Netflix | $50M | $50M |
Hamid. Moghadam | Prologis | $48M | -$8M |
Stephen Squeri | American Express | $48M | $43M |
James Gorman | Morgan Stanley | $39M | $31M |
David Zaslav | Warner Bros. Discovery | $39M | -$41M |
William McDermott | ServiceNow | $39M | -$76M |
Mark Begor | Equifax | $37M | -$19M |
Darren Woods | Exxon Mobil | $36M | $90M |
David Simon | Simon Property Group | $36M | $30M |
James Dimon | JPMorgan Chase | $35M | $37M |
Julie Sweet | Accenture | $34M | N/A |
Albert Bourla | Pfizer | $33M | $6M |
Laurence Fink | BlackRock | $33M | -$6M |
The Wall Street Journal report revealed that many of the top-paid S&P 500 CEOs in 2022 received much smaller pay packages due to market fluctuations.
For example, Sundar Pichai ended up receiving about $116 million as the value of Alphabet’s stock dropped at the time that his grants vested. Similarly, Michael Rapino was paid almost $36 million, though his stock awards will continue vesting for another five years.
Barring Pichai, many of the names of the highest paid S&P 500 CEOs were eclipsed by CEOs of several energy companies, like Exxon Mobil and Chevron, whose stock prices shot up in 2022.
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