CenterPoint Energy CEO ranked among most overpaid in the U.S.
David J. Lesar, president and CEO of CenterPoint Energy since 2020, has a pay of $37.8 million.
Cody Duty/Houston Chronicle
A new ranking of the most overpaid chief executive officers, better known as CEOs, across the country has named a Texas energy company’s leader on the list. The annual list from As You Sow, a nonprofit for shareholder advocacy, pays attention to CEOs among S&P 500 companies, including Amazon, Apple, and Netflix.
Texas’ own CenterPoint Energy, the headquarters of which is in Houston, is notable among the worldwide retailer and entertainment companies. For the ranking, As You Sow pays attention to total shareholder returns, the number of shares voted against a CEOs pay, and the ratio between the CEO’s salary and that of the average worker.
David J. Lesar, president and CEO of CenterPoint Energy since 2020, has a pay of $37.8 million, roughly $23.5 million of that being considered excess pay according to As You Sow. By comparison, the average salary for a CenterPoint Energy employee is $103,170.
Even among the S&P 500 CEOs, Lesar makes big money. The average pay for these CEOs is $18.8 million. Another thing to keep in mind is that the ranking is based on figures available from 2021 data.
Lesar reportedly earns a base salary of about $1.4 million, but received more than $33 million in “stock awards” and an additional half million in perks like chartered planes, personal security detail, a car, and relocation expenses.
Though this is the first time the CenterPoint Energy CEO has appeared on the list, the ranking comes after shareholders for the company voted against Lesar’s $37.8 million compensation (again, based on 2021 figures) during an annual meeting in April 2022. At the time, CenterPoint issued a statement identifying the $33 million as a “one-time retention award” and claimed Lesar aims to “reduce the company’s expenses and pass savings onto customers.”
