18 highest-paid CEOs in healthcare

Ayla Ellison -

The CEOs of Centene, HCA Healthcare and AbbVie are among the highest-paid chief executives of the largest U.S. companies, according to Equilar.

For its ranking of the 100 highest-paid CEOs in 2020, Equilar examined proxy statements filed by companies before March 31. 

The study showed that median CEO compensation was $15.5 million in 2020, down 1.6 percent from $15.7 million in its 2019 study. In line with the decline in median total compensation, 32 CEOs of the largest U.S. companies saw a smaller pay package in 2020 than a year earlier. Twenty-three CEOs saw compensation dip in 2019, according to the report. 

Here are the 18 healthcare CEOs that made the highest paid list, in order of total compensation in 2020. 

1. Michael Neidorff (Centene) — $24.96 million 

2. Alex Gorsky (Johnson & Johnson) — $23.14 million 

3. Richard A. Gonzalez (AbbVie) — $21.78 million 

4. David M. Cordani (Cigna) — $19.74 million 

5. Albert Bourla (Pfizer) — $19.67 million 

6. Giovanni Caforio (Bristol-Myers Squibb) — $19.56 million 

7. Daniel O'Day (Gilead Sciences) — $18.99 million 

8. Samuel Hazen (HCA Healthcare) — $18.13 million 

9. David Ricks (Eli Lilly) — $17.82 million 

10. Joseph Zubretsky (Molina Healthcare) — $17.81 million 

11. Stefano Penssina (Walgreens Boots Alliance) — $17.48 million 

12. Bruce Broussard (Humana) — $16.49 million 

13. Robert Ford (Abbott Laboratories) — $16.3 million 

14. Steven Collis (AmerisourceBergen) — $14.3 million 

15. Michael Kaufmann (Cardinal Health) — $14.22 million 

16. Michael Hsu (Kimberly-Clark) — $13.47 million 

17. Michael Roman (3M) — $12.99 million 

18. Rainer Blair (Danaher) — $10.4 million 

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