By some measures — depending on how much caviar is in your diet — you might call it a tough week for a couple of America’s most prominent CEOs. The chief executives of Tesla and Intel lost out on massive stock payout packages: Tesla’s Elon Musk would've received $56 billion if a judge hadn't voided the plan, while Intel’s now former CEO Pat Gelsinger could’ve taken home an estimated $140 million if he had turned the company around.
But don’t fret — Musk, Gelsinger and the nation’s top CEOs are still very, very rich. Musk, who runs several other businesses, has an estimated net worth of $353 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which lists him as the world's richest person. Gelsinger earned at least $46 million during his four years at Intel, according to a Fortune analysis. They’re in gilded company: The average top American CEO took home $22.2 million in 2023, according to data from the Economic Policy Institute. Meanwhile the average American earns roughly $59,228 per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
