October DealsAmazon USOctober deal check: compare before you payAmazon US: current deals, useful picks and tech finds.Check DealsWindows FixRecommendedWindows errors stealing your time? Find the fix fastScan stability, cleanup and performance issues.Fix NowOctober DealsAmazon USDeal season is back - check today's better picksAmazon US: current deals, useful picks and tech finds.See Picks×
Skip to content
The Finance Base
The Money Desk · Blog
Re:

Amazon’s 6 Highest-Paid Executives in 2022: AWS CEO Adam Selipsky Reported $41.1 Million

Douglas Herrington topped Amazon’s fiscal 2022 compensation ranking at $43.2 million, followed by then-AWS CEO Adam Selipsky at $41.1 million. The figures include stock awards valued when granted, not simply cash received that year.
From TheFinanceBase Team2 min to read
Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Amazon’s highest-paid executive in fiscal 2022 was Douglas Herrington, CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores, with reported total compensation of $43,215,779. Adam Selipsky, then CEO of Amazon Web Services (AWS), ranked second at $41,113,295. Those figures are SEC Summary Compensation Table totals—not amounts either executive necessarily received in cash that year.

Amazon’s six highest-compensated executives in fiscal 2022

The ranking below uses the totals disclosed in Amazon’s 2023 proxy statement for fiscal 2022. Roles are those held during the period covered, not necessarily current titles.

Rank Executive Role in the period 2022 reported total compensation
1 Douglas Herrington CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores $43,215,779
2 Adam Selipsky CEO of Amazon Web Services $41,113,295
3 (tie) Brian Olsavsky CFO $18,181,043
3 (tie) David Zapolsky SVP and general counsel $18,181,043
5 Jeff Bezos Founder and executive chair $1,681,840
6 Andy Jassy President and CEO $1,298,723

Amazon’s six disclosed totals add up to $122,390,056, a calculation from the individual figures in the filing. CRN described the group’s compensation as more than $120 million.

Sources: Amazon’s 2023 proxy statement and CRN’s report on the ranking.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Why the reported totals are not cash pay

The Summary Compensation Table includes the grant-date fair value of stock awards. For Selipsky, stock awards accounted for $40,752,682 of his $41,113,295 reported total; the table also listed a $317,500 salary and $43,113 in other compensation. Grant-date value is not the same as cash received, nor does it mean all the stock had vested in 2022.

Amazon said executives generally received periodic restricted stock unit (RSU) awards every other year, with awards vesting over six years subject to continued employment. As a result, the year an award is granted can strongly affect a year’s reported total. Salary, other compensation, grant value and vesting schedule all matter when comparing annual figures.

A separate SEC measure, “Compensation Actually Paid,” is also not take-home pay or W-2 income. Amazon’s 2026 proxy explains that it reflects changes in equity values, including amounts that may not be earned until future vesting and may be forfeited if an executive leaves before vesting. It should not be substituted for the Summary Compensation Table totals used in this ranking. Amazon’s 2026 proxy statement.

Who was the AWS CEO—and who holds the role now?

The $41.1 million AWS CEO figure refers to Adam Selipsky and fiscal 2022. It is not a current-pay figure or an indication that he still leads AWS. Amazon’s 2025 proxy says Matthew Garman became AWS CEO effective June 2024. Amazon’s 2025 proxy statement.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
Rank #3
Sale
A. Lincoln: A Biography
  • Used Book in Good Condition
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Support on Ko-Fi

Amazon’s 2022 business context

CRN reported that Amazon generated $514 billion in sales in 2022, up 9% year over year, and recorded a $2.7 billion net loss, compared with $33.4 billion in net income in 2021. These are figures as reported by CRN in its April 2023 article. In the same coverage, CRN quoted CEO Andy Jassy’s shareholder-letter statement: “I’m optimistic that we’ll emerge from this challenging macroeconomic time in a stronger position than when we entered it.” CRN’s report.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

More post from the Money Desk

  1. The Money DeskBlogTheFinanceBase09 OCT 267 minMortgage Escrow FAQs: Taxes, Insurance, Shortages, and Refunds
  2. The Money DeskBlogTheFinanceBase09 OCT 265 minHow Mortgage Escrow Accounts Work and What Homeowners Pay For
  3. The Money DeskBlogTheFinanceBase09 OCT 265 minHow to Read a Stock Chart, Volume and Market-Cap Data
Recommended PC Tool
Recommended PC Tool
Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You DownFree scan - exact matches
PC Slower Than It Used to Be?Free scan - under a minute

Two free Windows tools

One Free Minute Could Fix That PC

Before you go - each of these free tools takes about a minute and tackles what quietly slows a Windows PC down.

Special offer. View Outbyte info, uninstall instructions, EULA, and Privacy Policy.