Blackstone Inc. CEO Stephen Schwarzman was the highest-paid chief executive in the US financial services industry in 2022, with total adjusted compensation of $253.1 million.
Schwarzman replaced Robinhood Markets Inc. CEO Vladimir Tenev, the top-paid CEO in the US financial services sector in 2021, in the top compensation ranking, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
With an all-cash compensation, Schwarzman's 2022 pay was up 57.9% from the previous year and was 1,068 times the median employee salary at Blackstone that year.
Asset management sector
Schwarzman moved up two notches from the third-highest-paid CEO in the US asset management sector in 2021, knocking KKR & Co. Inc. co-CEOs Joseph Bae and Scott Nuttall to second and third place, respectively, in 2022.
Bae and Nuttall, co-CEOs of KKR since Oct. 11, 2021, had 85.7% and 85% drops in their respective pays from the previous year.
Half of the 10 highest-paid CEOs in the asset management industry in 2022 received higher compensation than in 2021.
Investment banks, brokers and capital markets sector
Jefferies Financial Group Inc. CEO Richard Handler made $56.9 million in total adjusted compensation in 2022, topping his peers in the US investment banks, brokers and capital markets sector.
Handler's 2022 salary increased by 97.2% from 2021, comprised largely of stock grants.
PJT Partners Inc. CEO Paul Taubman placed second, even though his pay rose by 3,852.4% from 2021, mainly consisting of stock grants.
Morgan Stanley's James Gorman placed third in the sector, as his 2022 pay modestly increased by 12.8% from 2021. Gorman moved a notch higher, though, from fourth place in 2021.
– Read the S&P Global Market Intelligence Executive Compensation Review for US banks and thrifts as per GICS classification.
– Download a template for US bank and thrift executive compensation peer analysis.
Walter Bettinger of Charles Schwab Corp. had the smallest salary increase in the group at 11.2%. Among the 10 highest-paid CEOs in the sector in 2022, only Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s David Solomon and Evercore Inc.'s John Weinberg saw their salaries decrease from the previous year.
Robinhood's Tenev was not in the top 10 this time.
Specialty finance sector
In the specialty finance sector, Capital One Financial Corp. CEO Richard Fairbank made the most among his peers in 2022, with total adjusted compensation of $27.6 million, up 34.9% from his 2021 salary. Fairbank's 2022 pay was also largely from stock grants.
Equitable Holdings Inc. CEO Mark Pearson followed Fairbank in second place, with total adjusted compensation of $15.3 million in 2022, up 8.0% from 2021.
Synchrony Financial's Brian Doubles placed third, with total adjusted compensation of $13.7 million, an increase of 54.3% from his pay in 2021.
Eight of the 10 highest-paid CEOs in the specialty finance sector enjoyed a raise from 2021, while only OneMain Holdings Inc.'s Douglas Shulman and former PRA Group CEO Kevin Stevenson had lower total adjusted compensation in 2022.
