25 Aug, 2023

Blackstone reports largest CEO-to-median pay ratio; SuRo pays top median salary

By Muhammad Hammad Asif and Annie Sabater


Blackstone Inc. had the largest CEO-to-median employee pay ratio among US-listed private equity and venture capital firms in 2022.

CEO Stephen Schwarzman took home a total adjusted compensation package of $253.1 million in 2022. The executive had a full-year salary of $350,000, with an additional $987,782 in restricted shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust Inc. to be vested over three years and $57.8 million in Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust Inc. stock.

The median worker of Blackstone was paid $237,000 in 2022. The CEO-to-median employee pay ratio at the firm stood at 1,068-to-1, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

KKR & Co. Inc. reported the second-highest CEO-to-median employee pay ratio. KKR co-CEO Joseph Bae received total adjusted compensation of $80 million, including $60.2 million in cash payments of carried interest. The firm disclosed in its proxy filing that its median employee in 2022 received $225,000, creating a pay ratio of 352-to-1.

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SuRo Capital Corp. had the highest median pay among US-listed private equity and venture capital firms in 2022. The firm reported median compensation at $358,757 in 2022. In its proxy statement, SuRo stated that it annualized the compensation of nine employees who were hired in 2022 but did not work for the firm during the entire period.

SuRo President and CEO Mark Klein received a compensation package of $4.4 million, including $850,000 in salary, a $1.2 million bonus and $2.3 million in stock awards. The San Francisco-based firm had a CEO-to-median employee ratio of 12-to-1, well below the 32-1 median ratio among US-listed private equity and venture capital firms.

Of the selected companies, Apollo Global Management Inc. had the smallest pay ratio of 2-to-1. CEO Marc Rowan received a total of $310,011 in 2022, while the median employee earned $170,035.

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