Larry Ellison knocked off top pay slot

Larry Ellison is no longer the highest paid CEO in the US

Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison has lost his position as the most highly compensated company executive in the US.

Ellison, whose net worth is estimated at over $20bn (£12.2bn), received total compensation last year of $556m (£340m), up from $192m (£117m) in 2007, according to salary data published by analysts at the Corporate Library.

The Oracle chief was knocked off the top stop by Stephen A. Schwarzman, chief executive of asset management firm Blackstone Group, who received $702.4m (£429m), the bulk of it in equity grants after he took the firm public.

"Given that the other 75 per cent of his $4.7bn [£2.8bn] 2007 equity grant will vest in equal instalments over the next four years, it is reasonably safe to assume that Mr Schwarzman will remain at the top of the highest paid CEOs list, or close to it, for a few years to come," the Corporate Library said.

Ellison has for many years been the most highly paid technology chief executive, and usually the best paid in all industries. But he now faces strong competition from the financial industry and oil and gas suppliers. Seven of the top 10 highest paid executives are from the fossil fuel industry.

Overall the top 10 US executives took in over $2.2bn (£1.34bn) in compensation last year, and it is now estimated that a third of all pay in the country went to senior executives.