Amazon’s 6 Top Compensated Execs; AWS CEO Tops $41M
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos ranks No. 6, while AWS CEO Adam Selipsky ranks second in terms of Amazon’s most highly compensated executives in 2022. CRN breaks down Amazon’s top six earners.
From Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s total compensation falling by more than $200 million to Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky ranking No. 2 in terms of top compensated executives, the Seattle-based technology conglomerate dished out over $120 million to its top six executives in 2022.
Amazon generated $514 billion in sales in 2022, representing an increase of 9 percent ear over year. However, the company reported a net loss of $2.7 billion in 2022, compared to net income of $33.4 billion in 2021.
This past January, Amazon unveiled it would layoff 18,000 employees. That was followed by another layoff round announced in March that cut an additional 9,000 employees, including some job cuts at AWS.
[Related: Andy Jassy’s 5 Boldest Remarks On AWS, Layoffs, Chips And AI]
Andy Jassy’s Message
In a letter to shareholders today, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said he’s “optimistic” about the company’s future even during this time of uncertainty.
“I’m optimistic that we’ll emerge from this challenging macroeconomic time in a stronger position than when we entered it,” said Jassy in his letter.
“While we have a consumer business that’s $434 billion in 2022, the vast majority of total market segment share in global retail still resides in physical stores (roughly 80 percent). And, it’s a similar story for Global IT spending, where we have AWS revenue of $80 billion in 2022, with about 90 percent of Global IT spending still on-premises and yet to migrate to the cloud,” he said. “As these equations steadily flip—as we’re already seeing happen—we believe our leading customer experiences, relentless invention, customer focus, and hard work will result in significant growth in the coming years. … I strongly believe that our best days are in front of us, and I look forward to working with my teammates at Amazon to make it so.”
It is key to note that AWS executive officers are typically granted stock awards on an every-other-year basis. Because AWS’ total compensation includes the entire fair value stock award granted in that year, without regard to the fact that the grant vests over a number of years, AWS executives’ total compensation will be higher in years in which they receive a grant compared to years in which they don’t receive a grant, according to the filing.
CRN breaks down the six most hghly compensated executives at Amazon in 2022, which were:
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy
Amazon Founder and Chairperson Jeffrey Bezos
Amazon General Counsel leader David Zapolsky
Worldwide Amazon Stores Leader Douglas Herrington
Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky
Amazon Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky
No. 6: Andy Jassy
Title: Amazon CEO
Total Compensation: $1.29 Million
Amazon’s CEO saw his 2022 pay fall by more than $200 million compared to 2021 as Andy Jassy received no new stock awards last year.
Jassy reported total compensation of $1,298,723 in 2022, down from more than $212 million in 2021. Jassy received nearly all of his $212 million in 2021 from stock awards.
In 2022, Jassy received a salary of $317,500, up from $175,000 in 2021. He received about $1 million in other compensation, which includes his 401(k) plan and other costs of security and travel. Jassy became CEO of Amazon in 2021 after being the longtime CEO of Amazon’s cloud computing business AWS.
No. 5: Jeffrey Bezos
Title: Founder and Executive Chair
Total Compensation: $1.68 Million
The founder and executive chairman of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, received total compensation of $1,681,840 in 2022.
Amazon’s founder has received total compensation of $1.68 million over the past three years. Bezos’ annual salary has been $81,840 since 2020, with all other compensation totaling $1.6 million.
Bezos founded Amazon in his garage in Washington in 1994 initially as an online marketplace for books.
No. 3 (Tie): David Zapolsky
Title: SVP, General Counsel, and Secretary
Total Compensation: $18.18 Million
David Zapolsky is Amazon’s longtime senior vice president, general counsel, as well as the company’s secretary. He generated total compensation of $18,181,043 in 2022, up significantly from $163,200 in 2021.
Zapolsky made over $17.8 million in stock awards in 2022 compared to zero the year before. In 2022, his salary was $131,750.
Zapolsky first joined Amazon in 1999. He has held various general counsel and vice president roles over the past 24 years.
No. 3 (Tie): Brian Olsavsky
Title: CFO
Total Compensation: $18.18 Million
Brian Olsavsky has been Amazon’s chief financial officer since 2015, and has been with the company since 2002.
The 21-year Amazon veteran generated total compensation of $18,181,043 in 2022, a significant increase from $163,200 in 2021. Olsavsky’s stock awards surpassed $17.8 million last year compared to zero in 2021. His salary was $131,750 in 2022.
Both Amazon’s CFO Olsavsky and general counsel leader David Zapolsky have generated the same salary, stock awards and total compensation over the past three years.
No. 2: Adam Selipsky
Title: AWS CEO
Total Compensation: $41.11 Million
Adam Selipsky was named CEO of Amazon Web Services in 2021 after former CEO Andy Jassy was promoted to lead Amazon.
Selipsky reported total compensation of $41,113,295 in 2022, approximately half the $81 million he reported in 2021.
Stock awards make up the majority of Selipsky’s compensation. He received $40.7 million in stock awards in 2022, and $81.3 million in 2021. His salary in 2022 was $317,500, while other compensation totaled $43,113.
No. 1: Douglas Herrington
Title: CEO, Worldwide Amazon Stores
Total Compensation: $43.21 Million
Amazon’s top compensated executive in 2022 was Douglas Herrington, who runs Amazon Stores on a global basis. After 17 years with the company, Herrington was promoted last year to CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores.
Herrington received total compensation of $43,215,779 in 2022. There was no previous data available in Amazon’ SEC filing regarding his compensation prior to 2022.
His compensation was mostly stock awards, which totaled over $42.8 million. Herrington received a salary of $309,997 last year.