Blackstone Group Inc. Chairman, CEO and co-founder Stephen Schwarzman remained the highest-paid CEO among U.S. asset managers and other financial services firms in 2019, even after his compensation fell for the second consecutive year.

Schwarzman's $57.1 million in all-cash compensation was well ahead of the roughly $40 million that KKR & Co. co-CEOs George Roberts and Henry Kravis received.

Seven of the 10 top-paid asset manager CEOs saw a drop in total compensation in 2019.

The trend was more favorable for leaders of big U.S. investment banks, brokers and capital markets firms, where eight of the 10 highest-paid CEOs saw their compensation climb year over year. Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman received $31.6 million in adjusted compensation for the year, making him the highest-paid CEO among U.S. investment banks, brokers and capital markets firms. Gorman's compensation was split between $23.7 million in stock grants and $7.9 million in cash.

Synchrony Financial CEO Margaret Keane received $12.2 million in compensation in 2019, making her the most highly paid specialty finance company CEO in the country. Ally Financial Inc.'s Jeffrey Brown was the second-highest paid CEO in that group with $10.6 million in total adjusted compensation, up 11.0% year over year.

Five of the 10 top-paid CEOs in the industry saw total compensation drop year over year.