Steve Jobs Lands Top Paid CEO Spot

He may only draw a US$1 annual salary, but Apple CEO Steve Jobs still managed to as the highest paid CEO for 2006 on the Fortune 500 list. Mr. Jobs earned his top spot thanks to $647 million in vested restricted stock, according to Forbes.

Coming in behind Mr. Jobs was Ray R. Irani from Occidental Petroleum at $321.64 million, Barry Diller from IAC/InterActiveCorp at $295.14 million, William P Foley II from Fidelity National at $179.56 million, and Yahoois Terry Semel at 174.2 million. Like Mr. Jobs, these executives earned most of their money from stock-related transactions.

During his tenure as Apple CEO, Mr. Jobs has overseen the resurgence of the company first with the iMac, then with the iPod and iTunes, and now with the iPhone. Since his return to the company, Apple has also gone from being referred to as "beleaguered" to being the hot tech company to watch.