NYU Graduates Among The Highest Paid CEOs In America

New York University was tied for third place in a new look at the college backgrounds of highly paid U.S. CEOs. The study found that five leaders in Equilar’s list of the 100 highest paid CEOs attended NYU.

Harvard Led the List

Harvard University had the most graduates in the study, with 17 CEOs. The University of Pennsylvania came in second with eight. NYU tied with Stanford University for third, with five CEOs each.

What the Study Measured

DataCamp reviewed the school and degree information for CEOs included in Equilar’s ranking. They used company websites and official LinkedIn profiles to identify where the executives went to college and what they studied.

The results do not show that one school causes graduates to earn more than another. They only show where people in this group of 100 CEOs studied.

NYU’s Connection to the List

The study named Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf as one of the NYU graduates in the ranking. It said the CEOs from NYU had an average compensation value of about $44.7 million.

CEO pay can include salary, bonuses, stock awards, options, and other benefits. A large stock award can make one year of reported compensation much higher than normal cash pay.

Business Was the Top Degree

Business administration was the most common subject among the 100 CEOs, with 39 leaders studying it. Engineering ranked second with 34. Economics was third with 20. Finance, law, and computer science were also common areas of study. The findings suggest there is no single college path to leading a large company, but business and technical degrees appeared often in this group.