GM’s Mary Barra topped the US list as she reportedly made over $29 million last year

While it’s good to be king, being CEO isn’t too shabby either. A new analysis of executive pay at U.S.-based automakers and related companies in 2024 shows just how lucrative the top job can be.

Conducted by Auto News and Equilar, the study revealed the highest paid executive at an automaker based in America was GM’s Mary Barra. She reportedly earned $29,818,313, which was up 12.2% from last year.

More: Mary Barra Was Paid 310 Times More Than The Average GM Worker

Barra was closely followed by Ford CEO Jim Farley, who is said to have banked $27,608,563. That was an increase of 97.1% from 2023 and the jump is being credited to $23,392,143 in “stock award gains.”

Rounding out the podium is Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe, whose compensation package reached $13,955,227. That was up 974.1% from 2023, when he earned a modest $1,299,280.

If you’re wondering why Stellantis doesn’t appear in the lineup, the answer is geography. The company is headquartered in the Netherlands, placing it outside the scope of the U.S.-focused study.

Tech Sector Comparisons

Those are impressive totals, but they pale in comparison to compensation offered by tech firms. Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang reportedly banked a whopping $197,604,703. That’s a staggering figure, but it’s actually down significantly from the $288,832,071 in compensation he earned in 2023.

Huang was followed by Uber’s Dara Khosrowshahi, who raked in $114,910,689. That was up from $12,883,374 and the increase is largely due to stock option gains.

Interestingly, the third overall spot went to Eaton’s Craig Arnold. The recently departed executive took home $59,907,764 in 2024.

Lastly, Snap-on’s Nicholas Pinchuk made $34,446,115. That probably shouldn’t be too surprising considering their toolboxes can cost thousands of dollars.

The study looked at 61 companies and found the median compensation for automotive CEOs climbed 5% to $17,290,270. Supplier CEOs, on the other hand, saw a 13% drop to $11,234,560.

That being said, there’s a big caveat as Tesla CEO Elon Musk reportedly received nothing last year. However, he got a roughly $29 billion payday this August.

White House photo