Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison, a fixture on the list of the world's richest people, is now atop The Associated Press' rankings of the top-paid chief executives in the United States.

Ellison, never shy about flaunting his estimated $25 billion fortune, established himself as the best-paid chief executive among major U.S. companies by persuading Oracle to award him a fiscal 2008 pay package valued at $84.6 million under the AP's calculations.

The total compensation, disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, catapulted Ellison to the top spot in the annual analysis of chief executive pay.

The AP's calculations include executives' salary, bonus, incentives, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year. The formula often produces a figure that differs from the numbers listed by companies.

The Top 10

1. Larry Ellison, Oracle Corp., $84.6 million

2. John Thain, Merrill Lynch & Co., $83.1 million

3. Leslie Moonves, CBS Corp., $67.6 million

4. Richard Adkerson, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., $65.3 million

5. Bob Simpson, XTO Energy Inc., $56.6 million

6. Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., $53.9 million

7. Kenneth Chenault, American Express Co., $51.7 million

8. Eugene Isenberg, Nabors Industries Ltd., $44.6 million

9. John Mack, Morgan Stanley, $41.7 million

10. Glenn Murphy, Gap Inc., $39.1 million

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Posted by Michael Corey

www.ntirety.com