Iowa's highest-paid CEO makes 250 times more money than the typical Des Moines household

Principal Financial Group CEO Dan Houston is Iowa's top-paid CEO, according to a new analysis of executive pay across the states.

The Associated Press and executive data firm Equilar surveyed publicly traded companies with more than $1 billion in revenue that filed financial statements with federal regulators between Jan. 1 and April 30. Equilar combined salary, bonus, stock awards, stock option awards, deferred compensation and other perks to determine total CEO compensation.

That survey determined that Principal's Houston was the highest paid in Iowa, earning $9.4 million last year.

But he actually earned more.

His 2017 base salary increased 12.5 percent from 2016 to $900,000 in 2017, according to regulatory filings. But his potential incentive pay maxed out at $12.1 million.

Houston earned $11.9 million last year, said Principal Spokeswoman Erica Jensen.

That's nearly 250 times the median per capita income of $48,088 for households in Des Moines, according to the U.S. Census Bureau (That figure includes both income and benefits).

And it's 119 times higher than the median total compensation for Principal's national workforce of $100,355, according to a financial disclosure.

But Houston's earnings are still on par with those of other chief executives: The typical CEO in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index made $11.7 million last year, AP reported.

And his compensation is lower than some other CEOs in the industry:

Ameriprise Financial CEO James M. Cracchiolo earned $22.4 million in 2017, according to the AP analysis.

Fidelity Investments CEO Abigail Johnson owns almost 25 percent of that privately held, Boston-based business. She has an estimated net worth of more than $11 billion.

T. Rowe Price CEO William Stromberg earned a total compensation of $11.7 million in 2017, according to financial disclosures.

Aflac CEO Dan Amos earned $22.8 million in 2017, according to financial disclosures.

Unum CEO Richard McKenney earned $9.7 million in 2017, according to financial disclosures.

Houston became Principal's 15th CEO in 2015, pledging to "go deep" on strengthening the firm's footprint in domestic and international markets. He joined the insurance and financial services company in 1984 and has worked on the senior management team since 2000.

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