Median employee pay: $125,720
Total 2020 shareholder return: 19.8%
Note: Cracchiolo's realized compensation increased 260% over the previous year, mainly because he exercised $38.6 million in previously issued stock options after not exercising any in 2019.
Cracchiolo, the only CEO of Ameriprise since it spun out of American Express in 2005, earned a $5.6 million cash incentive award for the company's 2020 results, 3% less than the previous year.
While some companies have adjusted financial goals for 2020 because of the pandemic, the board of directors did not make any adjustments after the company navigated through the pandemic comparatively smoothly.