Saturday, November 2, 2024

What the Highest-paid CEOs at U.S. Fashion and Retail Companies Make

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There’s no payday in fashion that looks anything like what Elon Musk is trying to reel in at Tesla, where shareholders gave the thumbs-up to a $56 billion stock payout that still faces legal challenges. 

But the pay for chief executive officers at the largest U.S. retail and fashion companies is still pretty good. 

The list of the industry’s highest-paid CEOs has plenty of familiar names and trends. 

White men still make up the majority of fashion’s highest-paid executives. (The two women at the top are Barbara Rentler, chief of Ross Stores Inc., and Fran Horowitz, head of Abercrombie & Fitch Co.).

And the highest-paid CEOs received more than two-thirds of their pay in stock and option awards, on average. That’s money that still depends on how the company’s stock performs, tying the CEO’s pocketbook with the fortunes of shareholders. 

While many of the biggest executive paydays came at the industry’s largest players, that wasn’t always the case. The highest-paid executive in the U.S. fashion industry in 2023 was Morris Goldfarb, chairman and CEO of G-III Apparel Group. 

Goldfarb, who’s spent half a century atop the company parent company of DKNY, Donna Karan, Karl Lagerfeld and others, has been busy stabilizing the business after the loss of the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilifger licenses. The plan at G-III now includes controlling the company’s destiny with new acquisitions and a new focus on owned brands, including the relaunch of Donna Karan this year.

Here, a rundown of the industry’s highest-paid CEO’s for 2023, according to company regulatory filings. 

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