Only Elon Musk earned more than this Indian-origin CEO in 2025

Only Elon Musk earned more than an Indian-origin chief executive in 2025.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Shankh Mitra, Chief Executive Officer of US-based healthcare real estate investment trust Welltower, received a compensation package valued at $821 million, making him the second-highest-paid CEO globally during the year.

Musk topped the list with compensation valued at $158 billion, while Mitra ranked ahead of several prominent business leaders in what the publication described as a strong rebound in executive pay.

Executive compensation reaches new highs

According to The Wall Street Journal, 2025 marked a significant recovery in CEO compensation.

Key findings from the report include:

• Shankh Mitra received a compensation package worth $821 million.
• Elon Musk remained the world's highest-paid executive with compensation valued at $158 billion.
• 2025 recorded the highest number of CEOs earning at least $100 million since 2021.
• Nearly a dozen chief executives received compensation packages exceeding $200 million.

The report said the surge reflects a broader increase in long-term equity-based awards granted to senior executives.

A journey from Kolkata to Corporate America

Mitra's leadership journey began in Kolkata, where he studied Instrumentation and Electronics Engineering at Jadavpur University.

He later moved to the United States and completed an MBA in Applied Value Investing from Columbia Business School, building a career in finance and investment management.

Before joining Welltower, Mitra held senior investment positions at Citadel LLC and Millennium Management, focusing on real estate securities and portfolio management.

Led Welltower through growth

Mitra joined Welltower in 2016 and became the company's Chief Investment Officer in 2018.

He was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 2020.

At the time, Jeffrey H. Donahue, Welltower's Lead Independent Director, credited Mitra's investing and operational expertise with strengthening the company's position.

Welltower is one of the largest healthcare real estate investment trusts in the United States, specialising in senior housing, post-acute care and outpatient medical properties.

Majority of compensation linked to stock awards

Unlike conventional executive pay packages, most of Mitra's compensation came through long-term equity awards rather than salary.

According to The Wall Street Journal:

• Around $789 million of the package came from a stock award granted in October.
• The value of those shares exceeded $1 billion by the end of the year as Welltower's share price increased.
• Approximately half of the shares will vest in 2031, provided Mitra remains with the company.
• The remaining shares depend on Welltower achieving long-term performance targets, including increasing its market value by 45% and outperforming major stock market indices over a five-year period.

The structure links a substantial portion of the compensation to future business performance and long-term shareholder value creation.

Another Indian-origin executive features among top earners

The report also highlighted Nikesh Arora, CEO of Palo Alto Networks, who ranked among the world's top 10 highest-paid executives with compensation worth $100 million.

Other executives on the list included:

• George Kurtz: $248 million
• Hock Tan: $205 million
• David Zaslav: $165 million
• Stephen Schwarzman: $126 million

The Wall Street Journal also noted that four executives at Welltower received compensation packages exceeding $100 million, making it one of the few companies to reach that milestone in a single year.

Mitra's rise from an engineering graduate in Kolkata to one of the world's highest-paid business leaders reflects the growing global presence of Indian-origin executives at the helm of major multinational companies. His compensation package also illustrates how long-term, stock-based incentives continue to reshape executive remuneration at the world's largest corporations.

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