M’sian-born CEO paid more than tech titans

Leading the pack: Tan beats Cook, Musk and Zuckerberg in the analysis by the WSJ. — Photo from Broadcom Inc

PETALING JAYA: The highest-paid chief executive officer in the United States is neither Apple’s Tim Cook nor Tesla’s Elon Musk, but Malaysian-born businessman Tan Hock Eng.

Tan, 71, also surpassed Meta Platforms’ Mark Zuckerberg by earning US$162mil (about RM760mil) in compensation last year, according to South China Morning Post, which quoted an analysis by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) this week.

“Tan, who is a US citizen, is the CEO of semiconductor company Broadcom Inc and has been topping the pay charts since 2006, receiving US$103mil in 2017,” said WSJ.

However, the pay package comes with several conditions, including the company’s stock hitting a certain level by next year. Tan must also remain as CEO for an additional five years, and he will not receive any more equity or cash bonuses during that period.

The semiconductor company’s shares rose 106% over the past 12 months, bringing its total market capitalisation to US$655bil (RM3 trillion).

Tan is also a board member of Meta Platforms, the US-based company that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp among others.

Tan, who hails from Penang, completed his undergraduate studies in mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He also has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the National University of Singapore. He then earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University. After returning to Malaysia, he was involved with Hume Industries between 1983 and 1988.

He then moved to Singapore as managing director of venture capital firm Pacven Investment.

He reportedly relocated back to the United States in 1992 and assumed the role of vice-president of finance for PC maker Commodore International.