Despite Employee Compensation Fall, Chevron CEO Pay Rose 4% to $23.6m in 2022

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

 Chevron Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer, Michael Wirth, was paid $23.6 million in 2022, a 4 per cent increase from the prior year while the median annual compensation for the oil giant’s employees fell 12 per cent, a securities filing has shown.

In addition to sky-high energy prices, cost-cutting measures including payroll reductions helped Chevron’s profit more than double in 2022 to a record $36.5 billion, Reuters reported.

The median annual compensation for Chevron employees last year dropped to $161,488, the report noted.

Under a new metric required by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Wirth’s “actual compensation paid” rose 60 per cent to $86.7 million when equity awards, pension benefit adjustments and other compensation were factored in.

Chevron said the figure did not represent Wirth’s actual realised compensation as it includes equity-based awards – the value of which is not known until options are exercised or stock is sold.