TPG Capital LP CEO Jon Winkelried's total adjusted compensation increased nearly six times over the prior-year rate to make him the highest-paid executive leading a listed US private equity firm in 2023.

Stock worth $185 million combined with a $13.7 million annual salary to bring Winkelried's total 2023 compensation package to $198.7 million, according to an S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis of CEO compensation at publicly traded, US-based private equity and venture capital firms. His total adjusted compensation soared 482.2% higher in 2023 over the $34.1 million he took home in 2022.

The CEOs for three of the four largest US-listed private equity firms comprised the rest of the top five: Harvey Schwartz of The Carlyle Group Inc., Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone Inc. and KKR & Co. Inc. co-CEOs Joseph Yong Bae and Scott Nuttall.

The only Big Four private equity firm CEO absent from the top 10 list was Marc Rowan, co-founder and CEO of Apollo Global Management Inc. Apollo is the second-largest of the Big Four firms, with over $696 billion in assets under management as of the second quarter.

The largest raises

Winkelried's massive 2023 pay raise was by far the largest of his peer group. The next-largest was a 62.9% bump to $1.9 million in 2023 total adjusted compensation for David Lorber, CEO of PhenixFIN Corp., which operates as a business development company and makes both credit and equity investments.

At the other end of the spectrum was Ares Management Corp. CEO Michael Arougheti. Arougheti's total adjusted compensation declined 11.6% to $30.6 million in 2023 from $34.6 million in 2022, the largest year-over-year drop recorded by any member of his peer group.

Pay ratios

Winkelried's 2023 compensation was equivalent to 683 times the median TPG employee's salary. But the difference in compensation between CEO and median employee was even more stark at a competitor firm.

Carlyle's Schwartz was awarded 2023 compensation that was 813 times higher than the median employee earns in a year at the firm. Schwartz, who started his role in February 2023, did not even put in a full 12 months.

– Download a file of raw data from this story. – Read about private equity fundraising in the first half of 2024. – Catch up on private equity headlines.