America's HIghest-paid CEO

America's highest-paid CEO is a Houstonian: Meet the $141.9 Million Man

With Houston's booming economy, specifically in the oil and gas industry, it should come as no real surprise that America's highest paid CEO hails from the Bayou City.

But his 2013 compensation is still jaw dropping. Equilar — the data provider for The New York Times — crunched the numbers on compensation, professional history and wealth events for executives of publicly-traded companies. Data showed that chairman, president and CEO Charif Souki of Houston-based Cheniere Energy topped The New York Times 200 Highest Paid CEO Rankings with a cool $141,949,280 in compensation last year.

According to its website, Cheniere Energy "provides information on liquefied natural gas, U.S. energy demand, and how LNG can help to safely diversify and expand our energy supply."

Souki's 2013 salary was only $800,000. The other $141.1 million came from bonuses and stock.

Neither 61-year-old Souki or Cheniere Energy appeared on the 2013 list of the top 100 highest paid CEOs.

According to Forbes, Souki's 2013 salary was only $800,000. The other $141.1 million Cheniere's CEO received in compensation came from a large bonus ($3.6 million), non-equity incentive plan compensation ($4.2 million) and other compensation ($339,280), as well as more than $132 million from restricted stock awards. Additionally, Equilar's data indicates that Souki has sold more than $69 million in stock over the past three years.

In comparison to Souki's $141 million compensation, Exxon Mobil's CEO Rex Tillerson — at No. 25 on the list — made $28.1 million in 2013, and John Watson of Chevron — at No. 64 — was compensated $20.2 million.

Other local CEOs featured on Equilar's list include Paal Kibsgaard of Houston-based Schlumberger — the world's largest oil field services company — at No. 49 with $22 million received in 2013 compensation. Robert A. Walker, chairman, president and CEO of The Woodlands-based oil and gas exploration company Anadarko Petroleum, came in at No. 116 on the list with $15.7 million in 2013. Gary R. Heminger, president and CEO of Houston-based Marathon Oil , ranked 188th on the list with $12.7 million in compensation.

Charif Souki, chairman, president and CEO of Houston-based Cheniere Energy, is the highest paid CEO in the country with $141.9 million in compensation in 2013.

Photo via Forbes

Charif Souki, chairman, president and CEO of Houston-based Cheniere Energy, is the highest paid CEO in the country with $141.9 million in compensation in 2013.

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SAFE SPACE

2 Houston neighbors ranked among the top 10 safest cities in Texas

Steve Francis home estate Memorial Villages

Photo by Kevin Ward

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Judging by the headlines, locals might think they're going to be accosted every time they leave home, but a new report says the Houston area is home to two of the safest cities in Texas. Home security review site SafeWise has ranked the communities of the Memorial Villages (No. 3) and Fulshear (No. 8) on its recent list of towns unburdened by crime worries.

For its 2026 report, SafeWise factored in FBI-reported property and violent crime data for 343 cities, then adjusted it for population in order to fairly compare metros to rural and suburban towns. Although the rankings do provide a snapshot, the site says “a number of factors, including local agency reporting practices, community resources, prevention efforts, and lived experience all influence how safe a place is (or is perceived to be).”

The rankings were released with SafeWise’s State of Safety survey, which found that perception didn’t always gel with reality. Although the statewide property crime rate of 23.4 incidents per 1,000 people is slightly higher than the national rate, Texas’ violent crime rate of 4.44 incidents per 1,000 people is consistent with the national average.

Still, Texans feel less safe than the average American. Only 49 percent of the survey’s respondents say they feel safe in the state compared to the national norm of 52 percent. 55 percent said they worry about their safety on a daily basis, a year-over-year increase from 52 percent. The data contrasts with first-hand reporting. For the second year in a row, Lone Star State participants said they have had few personal experiences with property crime and package theft.

Elsewhere in Texas, Fair Oaks Ranch was the only San Antonio area city to make it to the list, which favored towns of 30,000 residents or fewer. The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan statistical area had the most ranked cities. The full top 10 includes:

No. 1 — Trophy Club (Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington)
No. 2 — Parker (Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington)
No. 3 — Memorial Villages (Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land)
No. 4 — Melissa (Dallas-Fort Worth)
No. 5 — Fair Oaks Ranch (San Antonio-New Braunfels)
No. 6 — Whitehouse (Tyler)
No. 7 — Murphy (Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington)
No. 8 — Fulshear (Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land)
No. 9 — Colleyville (Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington)
No. 10 — Lumberton (Beaumont-Port Arthur)

safety suburbs crime rankings