Bob Iger — Disney ($31 Million Return Package)

Bob Iger's $31 million return package remains among the most controversial in modern corporate governance. He stepped back into the CEO role just 11 months after retiring, after personally selecting and then replacing his successor Bob Chapek. The pay package itself is modest compared to the $55 million earned by Satya Nadella (#8) in 2023, but the governance failure is starker: Iger's compensation was approved by a board that had overseen Chapek's $24 million payout during a period of declining performance. Critics argue this sequence exposed the Disney board as a rubber stamp rather than an independent oversight body. The $31 million figure — 210 times the median Disney employee's pay — underscores a wider industry issue, but Iger's case is unique because the board rewarded a return that many shareholders never voted for.