Top paid CEOs in USA; Apple's Cook is number 1

Tim Cook, CEO, Apple Inc

Apple chief executive Tim Cook topped the list of the best-paid CEOs in the US in 2011 thanks to stock options that put him more than $300 million ahead of his next rival, a Wall Street Journal survey said. Cook, who took charge of the iPhone and iPad maker in August 2011, received total compensation of $378 million. Of this, $900,000 was his annual salary and $900,000 was annual incentives. But he also received $376 million in restricted stock grants, based on Apple's stock price at the time.

Larry Ellison, CEO, Oracle

Larry Ellison, another Silicon Valley big gun, came in second place with less than a fifth of Cook's pay, at $76 million. According to the survey, he received a $13.3 mn bonus and stock options worth $62.7 mn, but no salary. He has held the second position for the past three years.

Leslie Moonves, CEO, CBS

Leslie Moonves, who heads Americal television broadcaster, CBS, was in the third position at $69 million. His pay jumped 29 per cent over last year. His pay included a $30 million annual bonus, stock options valued at $27.3 million and types of restricted stock collectively valued at $8.5 million. Moonves has been in the top five of the survey for past three years.

Ronald Johnson, CEO, JCPenney

In fourth position is Ronald Johnson, chief executive of struggling retailer, JCPenney. He who pulled in $53 million. Johnson, the former head of Apple's retail-store unit, took over the reins of JC Penney Co. in November last year. According to the survey, he received a grant of 1.66 million shares of restricted stock, valued at $52.6 million as a compensation for the restricted Apple stock that he left behind.

Sanjay Jha, CEO, Motorola Mobility

The chief of Motorola Mobility Sanjay Jha was ranked fifth, at $47 million. His compensation includes stock options valued at $34.2 million and restricted stock valued at $9.4 million.