Tim Cook tops 2011 executive compensation study

Apple's chief executive was the highest-paid CEO during 2011, according to a study put out by the Wall Street Journal and the Hay Group consulting firm earlier today.

Cook was granted a pay package worth $378 million after becoming Apple's chief executive last August. Though as the Journal notes, there are some serious strings attached.

The stock grant, which was unveiled in a January proxy filing, had restrictions that keep Cook from collecting the first half of the shares until 2016, with the other half in 2021. Nonetheless, Apple's stock price at the time they were valued puts Cook at the top of the heap.

Behind Cook was:

• Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, who picked up $76 million in compensation, most of which were stock options.
• CBS Corporation's chief executive Leslie Moonves, who picked up $69.3 million, $30 million of which was part of a bonus. (Disclosure: CBS owns CNET)
• J.C. Penney chief executive Ron Johnson (formerly Apple's senior vice president and head of retail), who received $53.3 million worth of restricted stock.
• Motorola Mobility chief executive Sanjay Jha, who pulled in $46.6 worth of compensation, most of which were stock options.

The results follow a feature piece on executive compensation by the New York Times last month, which referred to the Apple exec as "the $378 million man."