Of 25 top earners working in healthcare, the most modestly compensated industry executive made $6.6 million in 2018.
That was Allergan’s CEO, Brent Saunders. The best paid was Michael Neidorff of Centene, whose package topped $26 million.
The info comes from Business Insider, which looked at 2018 salaries, stock, pensions and other monetary rewards.
“Leading a top healthcare company is a demanding job—and one for which CEOs are handsomely compensated,” wrote reporters Emma Court and Lydia Ramsey. “There’s a lot that can come with the job title, from overseeing tens of billions of dollars in market value to testifying in front of Congress and finding ways to serve both shareholders and patients.”
The reporters also noted that, in the U.S., healthcare CEOs are some of the most highly paid executives in any industry.
Here are their top 10, with compensation packages rounded off after the first comma in each one’s figure:
- Centene CEO Michael Neidorff: $26.1 million
- Gilead Sciences CEO John Milligan: $26.0 million
- Abbott Laboratories CEO Miles White: $24.3 million
- CVS Health CEO Larry Merlo: $22.0 million
- HCA Healthcare CEO R. Milton Johnson: $21.4 million
- AbbVie CEO Rick Gonzalez: $21.3 million
- Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky: $20.1 million
- Pfizer CEO Ian Read: $19.5 million
- Cigna CEO David Cordani: $18.9 million
- Thermo Fisher CEO Marc Casper: $18.6 million
For the rest of the list plus insights into each executive on it, click here.
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.