Florida’s Highest-Paid Executives in 2026

By Brian French | October 21, 2026

Quick Answer: Among Florida-headquartered public companies that filed 2026 proxy statements, Lennar’s Stuart Miller reported the largest CEO pay package at about $29.5 million for fiscal 2025. He was followed by Roper Technologies’ Neil Hunn ($26.2 million), Chewy’s Sumit Singh ($25.7 million), NextEra Energy’s John Ketchum ($24.2 million) and Royal Caribbean’s Jason Liberty ($23.9 million).

Florida has quietly become one of the country’s deepest benches of corporate leadership. Homebuilders, cruise lines, utilities, payments processors, software roll-ups, railroads, restaurant groups and electronics manufacturers all run their global operations from Miami, Juno Beach, Sarasota, St. Petersburg, Jacksonville, Orlando and Palm Beach Gardens. Every spring, those companies file proxy statements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that disclose exactly what their top executives were paid.

The 2026 proxy season, which covers fiscal 2025 for most companies, shows a clear pattern. Florida’s best-paid chief executives earn in the same range as the national S&P 500 average, the large majority of their pay comes in stock rather than cash, and the biggest swings from year to year come from one-time events such as retention grants, leadership changes and severance.

This report compiles the reported figures for Florida’s highest-paid public company executives, explains what the numbers include, and looks at what they say about Florida’s corporate economy.

Florida’s Top-Paid CEOs at a Glance

The table below ranks chief executives of Florida-headquartered public companies by total compensation as reported in the Summary Compensation Table of each company’s most recent proxy statement. Figures are for each company’s fiscal 2025 unless noted.

Rank	Executive	Company (HQ)	2025 Pay
1	Stuart Miller	Lennar (Miami)	$29.5M
2	Neil Hunn	Roper Technologies (Sarasota)	$26.2M
3	Sumit Singh	Chewy (Plantation)	$25.7M
4	John Ketchum	NextEra Energy (Juno Beach)	$24.2M
5	Jason Liberty	Royal Caribbean (Miami)	$23.9M
6	Joe Hinrichs*	CSX (Jacksonville)	$23.7M
7	Stephanie Ferris	FIS (Jacksonville)	$22.9M
8	Josh Weinstein	Carnival (Miami)	$18.9M
9	Paul Shoukry	Raymond James (St. Petersburg)	$16.6M
10	Mike Dastoor	Jabil (St. Petersburg)	$16.1M
11	David Gitlin	Carrier Global (Palm Beach Gardens)	$15.0M
12	Rick Cardenas	Darden (Orlando)	$14.0M**
13	Harry Sommer*	Norwegian Cruise Line (Miami)	$13.7M

*Left the CEO role. Hinrichs’ figure includes $8.25 million in severance. Sommer departed in February 2026.
**Darden fiscal 2025 (year ended May 2025).

The list covers Florida-headquartered public companies whose 2026 filings and reported figures were reviewed for this article. It is not an exhaustive census of every public company in the state, and private companies, which do not disclose executive pay, are not included.

How Executive Pay Is Measured

Before comparing numbers, it helps to understand what “total compensation” means in a proxy statement.

The Summary Compensation Table

Public companies must report pay for their named executive officers in a standardized Summary Compensation Table. Total compensation combines:

Component	What It Represents
Salary	Base cash pay
Bonus	Discretionary cash awards
Stock awards	Grant-date value of restricted or performance shares
Option awards	Grant-date value of stock options or SARs
Non-equity incentive	Annual cash bonus tied to targets
Pension and deferred comp	Change in pension value and above-market earnings
All other compensation	Perks such as security, aircraft, and retirement contributions

Grant Value Is Not Take-Home Pay

The largest piece of most packages is stock, which is reported at its estimated value on the day it is granted. An executive may ultimately receive far more, or far less, depending on how the share price moves and whether performance targets are met. That is why reported pay and realized wealth can diverge dramatically.

Fiscal Years Differ

Not every company uses the calendar year. Lennar and Carnival close their fiscal years at the end of November, Jabil and Raymond James at the end of September, Darden at the end of May and Chewy at the beginning of February. Each figure in this report reflects the fiscal year the company used.

The Top Five, Up Close

1. Stuart Miller, Lennar

Lennar’s executive chairman and chief executive, Stuart Miller, reported total compensation of about $29.5 million for fiscal 2025. Nearly all of it, about $25.7 million, came from stock awards, alongside a $1 million salary and roughly $2.8 million in annual cash incentive. The nation’s second-largest homebuilder also reported about $23.3 million for Jon Jaffe, its former co-CEO and president, who retired at the end of 2025. Together, the two Lennar leaders accounted for more than $52 million in reported pay, the largest executive pay total for any single Florida company in this review.

2. Neil Hunn, Roper Technologies

Roper, the Sarasota-based acquirer and operator of vertical software businesses, reported about $26.2 million for chief executive Neil Hunn, up from about $23.7 million in 2024. More than $22.6 million came from stock and option awards. Roper’s disclosed CEO pay ratio was about 260 to 1, reflecting a relatively well-paid median employee at roughly $100,900.

3. Sumit Singh, Chewy

Chewy’s Sumit Singh reported about $25.7 million for fiscal 2025, down from roughly $29.7 million the prior year. About $20 million of the package was stock. The Plantation-based online pet retailer also disclosed about $1.3 million in personal security costs. Chewy’s CEO pay ratio was 579 to 1, against a median employee pay of about $44,400, and the company also published a supplemental ratio of 129 to 1 excluding the CEO’s long-term incentive award.

4. John Ketchum, NextEra Energy

NextEra Energy, the Juno Beach parent of Florida Power & Light, reported 2025 total compensation of about $24.2 million for chairman and chief executive John Ketchum. NextEra is the largest utility company in the United States by market value, and Ketchum’s pay places him among the highest-paid utility executives nationally, although a national review by S&P Global Market Intelligence ranked American Electric Power’s chief executive as the top-paid utility CEO for 2025.

5. Jason Liberty, Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean Group’s Jason Liberty reported about $23.9 million for 2025, up from about $19.5 million in 2024. The package included a salary of about $1.4 million, roughly $15.8 million in stock awards and a $5.1 million bonus, along with about $1.65 million in other compensation that included personal use of chartered aircraft and security. The Miami cruise operator’s strong post-pandemic recovery and stock performance supported the increase.

Jacksonville: Severance Tops the List

Jacksonville’s results show how leadership changes can drive pay totals.

Former CSX chief executive Joe Hinrichs reported about $23.7 million for 2025, the highest figure among Jacksonville public company CEOs, according to reporting by the Jacksonville Daily Record. The total included $8.25 million in severance after the railroad separated him from employment on September 27, 2025, plus about $12.5 million in stock and option awards. His successor, Steve Angel, reported about $11.7 million for roughly three months in the role.

Among Jacksonville chief executives still in their jobs at year end, Fidelity National Information Services’ Stephanie Ferris led with about $22.9 million, including roughly $18.7 million in stock awards. Fidelity National Financial’s Mike Nolan reported about $11.6 million, and Regency Centers’ Lisa Palmer reported about $11.1 million.

Tampa Bay: Financial Services and Manufacturing

Two St. Petersburg companies anchor the Tampa Bay list.

Raymond James Financial reported about $16.6 million for Paul Shoukry for fiscal 2025, roughly double his prior-year pay, in his first year as chief executive. The package included about $8 million in cash bonus and $7.9 million in stock, and excluded a previously awarded $5 million one-time leadership award.

Jabil reported about $16.1 million for chief executive Mike Dastoor for fiscal 2025, most of it in stock awards valued at about $11.3 million. Jabil disclosed one of the highest CEO pay ratios in Florida, about 1,325 to 1, reflecting a global manufacturing workforce in which many employees work outside the United States.

South Florida: Cruise Lines, Homes and Industrials

South Florida dominates the top of the list. In addition to Lennar, Chewy, NextEra and Royal Caribbean:

• Carnival Corporation’s Josh Weinstein reported about $18.9 million for fiscal 2025, down about 20 percent from the prior year. Carnival’s disclosed CEO pay ratio was about 1,063 to 1, against a median employee pay of roughly $17,800, a figure shaped by the cruise line’s large shipboard workforce.
• Carrier Global’s David Gitlin reported about $15.0 million for 2025, sharply lower than the roughly $65 million reported for 2024. The 2024 total was inflated by a one-time retention award granted after Boeing showed interest in recruiting him as its chief executive. Carrier’s 2025 pay ratio was about 319 to 1.
• Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ Harry Sommer reported about $13.7 million for 2025. He left the company in February 2026 amid investor pressure over the cruise line’s performance and was succeeded by John Chidsey.

Central Florida and Beyond

Orlando-based Darden Restaurants reported about $14.0 million for chief executive Rick Cardenas for fiscal 2025, which ended in May 2025, up about 17 percent from the prior year. Darden’s fiscal 2026 proxy, filed in August 2026, reported a substantially larger package that secondary summaries attribute largely to a special equity grant. Readers should consult the company’s filing for the official fiscal 2026 figure.

In Daytona Beach, insurance broker Brown & Brown reported about $8.6 million for chief executive J. Powell Brown for 2025, down about 26 percent from 2024.

The Palantir Factor

One of the most notable additions to Florida’s corporate roster is Palantir Technologies, which disclosed in 2026 that it had moved its headquarters from Denver to South Florida. Its 2026 proxy lists a principal executive office in Aventura.

Chief executive Alex Karp’s reported compensation is modest by the standards of this list, roughly $8.6 million for 2025 according to summaries of the proxy, with most of it tied to personal security, aircraft costs and a regulatory filing fee paid on his behalf rather than new stock grants. His wealth is driven by shares he already owns. Financial news reports estimated that Karp realized about $6.8 billion from stock in 2024 as Palantir’s share price surged. The contrast is a reminder that reported pay and actual wealth creation are very different measures.

What the Pay Ratios Reveal

Companies must disclose the ratio of CEO pay to median employee pay. Florida’s ratios vary enormously, largely because of differences in workforce composition.

Company	CEO Pay Ratio	Median Employee Pay
Jabil	1,325 to 1	Not stated in summary
Carnival	1,063 to 1	$17,773
Chewy	579 to 1	$44,389
Carrier Global	319 to 1	Not stated in summary
Roper Technologies	260 to 1	$100,901
Palantir	37 to 1	$235,115

Companies with large global manufacturing, shipboard or warehouse workforces report higher ratios. Software and technology companies with highly paid engineering staffs report lower ones.

How Florida Compares Nationally

An Associated Press survey of S&P 500 chief executives found that CEO pay rose almost 6 percent in 2025 to about $17.7 million, while the median worker at those companies earned about $89,700. Most of the Florida executives in this review earned above that level, and the top five each reported more than $23 million.

Several forces explain Florida’s position:

1. Headquarters migration. Companies such as Palantir and Carrier, along with a growing number of financial firms, have moved leadership to Florida.
2. Large-cap concentration. Florida is home to some of the largest companies in their sectors, including NextEra, Lennar, Royal Caribbean and Carnival.
3. Equity-heavy pay. Boards increasingly tie pay to long-term stock performance, which raises reported values in strong markets.
4. No state income tax. Florida’s tax structure makes the state attractive to executives with large equity compensation, although it does not affect reported pay figures.

Year-Over-Year Swings

Florida’s rankings shift substantially from year to year. In 2025 reporting covering fiscal 2024, Carrier’s Gitlin led South Florida at about $65 million, followed by Trump Media’s chief executive at about $47 million and Lennar’s Miller at nearly $30 million. A year later, Gitlin’s retention award no longer inflates his total, Lennar has moved to the top, and Roper and Chewy are among the leaders.

The lesson for readers is that a single year’s ranking reflects timing as much as performance. Retention grants, sign-on awards, CEO transitions and severance can move an executive up or down the list without any change in the long-term pay philosophy.

The Pay Mix: Mostly Stock

Across the companies in this review, stock and option awards account for the majority of total compensation, often 70 percent or more. Base salaries for Florida’s largest-company CEOs cluster between about $1 million and $1.5 million. Annual cash incentives typically range from about $1 million to $5 million. Perquisites, especially personal security and aircraft use, have grown and now regularly exceed $1 million at several companies.

Brian’s Take

As a former money manager, I read proxy statements the way I used to read balance sheets. The headline number is the least useful figure in the document. What matters is how the pay is earned, what the board is paying for, and whether shareholders are getting a return on that investment.

The Florida numbers tell a clear story. The state now hosts chief executives who run some of the largest companies in America, and their pay looks like it. Lennar, Roper, NextEra and the cruise lines are global businesses with Florida addresses, and they compete for talent on a national scale. That is good news for Florida’s business ecosystem, because headquarters bring high-paying executive teams, board meetings, professional services spending and philanthropy.

The pay ratios are worth watching. A ratio above 1,000 to 1 is often a function of a global or shipboard workforce rather than a Florida payroll, but it still shapes public perception. Boards that explain their ratios clearly, as Chewy did with its supplemental disclosure, earn credibility.

My advice to Florida business owners is simple. Read the proxy statements of the public companies in your industry. They are free, they are detailed, and they show you exactly how the most successful companies in Florida structure incentives, retain leaders and reward performance. You do not need a $25 million budget to borrow the principles.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the highest-paid CEO in Florida?

Based on 2026 proxy filings reviewed for this article, Lennar’s Stuart Miller reported the largest package, about $29.5 million for fiscal 2025.

How is CEO pay calculated in proxy statements?

Companies report salary, bonus, the grant-date value of stock and option awards, non-equity incentive pay, changes in pension value and other compensation in a standardized Summary Compensation Table.

Does reported pay equal what executives actually receive?

No. Stock awards are valued when granted. What executives eventually realize depends on future share prices and whether performance goals are met.

Why did Carrier’s CEO pay drop so much?

Carrier’s 2024 figure included a one-time retention award granted after Boeing showed interest in recruiting David Gitlin. Without that award, his 2025 pay was about $15.0 million.

Why are some CEO pay ratios above 1,000 to 1?

Companies with large global manufacturing or shipboard workforces, such as Jabil and Carnival, have lower median employee pay, which produces higher ratios.

Are private company executives included?

No. Private companies are not required to disclose executive compensation, so this report covers only public companies.

Key Takeaways

• Lennar’s Stuart Miller led Florida public company CEOs at about $29.5 million.
• Five Florida CEOs reported more than $23 million in 2025 pay.
• Stock awards make up the majority of top executive compensation.
• One-time events such as severance and retention grants drive big year-to-year swings.
• Palantir’s move adds a new name, but its CEO’s reported pay is modest compared with his stock wealth.

Sources and Further Reading

1. Lennar Corporation 2026 Proxy Statement (Form DEF 14A) – U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
2. Roper Technologies 2026 Proxy Statement, summary of Summary Compensation Table – Gloom proxy summaries
3. Chewy, Inc. 2026 Proxy Statement, summary of Summary Compensation Table – Gloom proxy summaries
4. “NextEra Energy Says CEO John W. Ketchum’s 2025 Total Compensation Was $24.2 Million” – Reuters via MarketScreener, April 2026
5. “Jason Liberty’s 2025 Compensation Valued at $24m” – Seatrade Cruise News
6. “Hinrichs Was Jacksonville’s Highest-Paid CEO as He Left CSX” – Jacksonville Daily Record, May 2026
7. Carnival Corporation FY2025 Executive Compensation Summary – Velarion CompBrief
8. “Raymond James’ New CEO Paul Shoukry Earned $16.6 Million for 2025” – AdvisorHub
9. Jabil (JBL) and Carrier Global (CARR) CEO Pay Data – AFL-CIO Executive Paywatch
10. “Darden CEO’s Pay Jumps 17% to $14 Million” – Panabee
11. “How Top NCLH Leaders Were Compensated in 2025” – Seatrade Cruise News
12. Palantir Technologies 2026 Proxy Statement, summary of compensation and pay ratio – Gloom proxy summaries
13. “Palantir’s Alex Karp Made $6.8 Billion Last Year” – Sherwood News
14. “Who Are the Highest Paid CEOs in South Florida?” – WLRN, June 2025
15. “Boeing’s CEO Search Led to a Likely $150 Million-Plus Payday for Carrier Chief” – Fortune, May 2024
16. “CEO Pay Grew Nearly 6% in 2025, Fueled by Huge Compensation Deals” – Associated Press via FOX 13
17. “AEP’s Fehrman Was Highest-Paid CEO in US Utilities Sector in 2025” – S&P Global Market Intelligence