Health care CEOs harvest billions even as industry lags broader stock market

BioNTech’s Şahin, DaVita’s Rodriguez take home biggest pay packages

By Bob Herman and J. Emory Parker Aug. 18, 2025

The top executives running the health care industry’s blue‑chip companies amassed generational wealth in 2024, even as many businesses slipped in the eyes of their investors. Health care remains a highly profitable industry. But the biggest companies didn’t meet the lofty expectations of shareholders, dragging down their stocks. A few CEOs lost their jobs as a result, with some like Karen Lynch of CVS Health securing tens of millions of dollars on their way out. But many who stayed were rewarded even more. Compensation data show that the biggest pay packages usually come down to tenure: If someone stays long enough in the corner office, and the company doesn’t implode, their pot of gold grows larger.

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Stat reports that in 2024 the highest‑paid executives in the health‑care sector, including BioNTech CEO Uğur Şahin and DaVita CEO Rodriguez, received the largest compensation packages, while some CEOs such as Karen Lynch of CVS Health left with tens of millions in severance. The data show that long tenure is a key driver of pay, and that many blue‑chip health‑care companies generated generational wealth even as their stocks fell below shareholder expectations.