Glenn Fogel of Booking Holdings: the highest-paid travel CEO in 2023

30-05-24

Glenn Fogel, the CEO of Booking Holdings and its flagship brand, Booking.com, was the highest-paid travel CEO among S&P 500 companies in 2023, with a total compensation package of $46.7 million. This analysis, conducted by The Wall Street Journal, ranks CEOs based on their 2023 cash compensation and equity awards.

While Fogel topped the list for the travel sector, he ranked 10th overall among S&P 500 CEOs. The top three were Broadcom’s Hock Tan ($161.8 million), Palo Alto Networks’ Nikesh Arora ($151.4 million), and Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman ($119.8 million).

Debates on executive compensation aside, Fogel and three other travel industry leaders delivered outstanding results for their shareholders. The Wall Street Journal rated each company’s total shareholder return against its industry on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 indicating top 20% performance. Four travel companies achieved this top score: Booking Holdings, Delta Air Lines, Host Hotels, and Royal Caribbean.

Top Travel CEOs by Pay in 2023:

• Glenn Fogel, Booking Holdings: $46.7 million

• Ed Bastian, Delta Air Lines: $34.2 million

• James Risoleo, Host Hotels: $17.7 million

• Jason Liberty, Royal Caribbean: $17.2 million

These CEOs also scored highly for compensation relative to their industry peers, with Fogel, Bastian, and Risoleo receiving the highest scores.

Robert Isom of American Airlines and Chris Nassetta of Hilton had pay packages in the top 20% of their industries, but their shareholder returns were only in the top 60%. Meanwhile, Airbnb’s CEO, Brian Chesky, received $300,000 in total compensation, placing him at 413th in the S&P 500. Despite this, Chesky’s long-term compensation plan, announced in 2021, could potentially exceed $1 billion if certain stock price targets are met. In 2023, Airbnb’s shareholder return scored a 4, placing it in the top 80% within its sector.

For this analysis, only pure-play travel companies were considered, excluding CEOs from companies like American Express and JPMorgan Chase, which have significant travel businesses but are primarily financial institutions.