Shankh Mitra is the chief executive of Welltower, an S&P 500 real estate investment trust that invests in healthcare infrastructure, including senior housing and wellness properties. According to the annual ranking by The Wall Street Journal, Mitra placed second among chief executives of S&P 500 companies in 2025, with a total compensation package of $821 million. Only Tesla chief Elon Musk ranked higher, with a reported package of $158.4 billion.
From Jadavpur to Global Boardrooms
Mitra was born and raised in India, completing his bachelor's degree in Instrumentation and Electronics Engineering from Jadavpur University in Kolkata before moving to the United States, where he earned an MBA in Applied Value Investing from Columbia Business School. He began his professional life at PricewaterhouseCoopers, before moving into the investment world. He later worked at Fidelity Investments as an analyst, then joined Citadel Investment Group, one of the world's leading hedge funds, where he built expertise in portfolio management and risk analysis.
Before joining Welltower, Mitra served as Portfolio Manager for Real Estate Securities at Millennium Management, as per the Columbia Business School. He joined Welltower in 2016 and was appointed chief executive in October 2020.
How Was The $821 Million Pay Package Structured?
The figure is not a simple salary. Around 99% of Mitra's pay came from stock grants, including $789 million awarded in October. By year-end, the shares underlying the award were valued at just over $1 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The awards are not guaranteed either. About half the shares will vest in 2031 if Mitra remains with the company, while the remaining half depends on Welltower increasing its market value by 45% and outperforming several major stock market indices over five years.
Why More CEOs Are Crossing the $100 Million Mark
Executive compensation rose sharply in 2025, with more chief executives earning packages worth over $100 million than in any year since 2021. Mitra's award is considered one of the largest granted to a public company chief executive over the past decade. Three other Welltower executives also received packages exceeding $100 million, making it one of the rare companies to have four such recipients in a single year. Another Indian-origin leader, Nikesh Arora of Palo Alto Networks, ranked eighth among the highest-paid executives globally with a package worth $100 million.
