Michael Neidorff's compensation as Centene chief executive rose 3 percent last year to $26.1 million, meaning he probably was the St. Louis area's highest-paid CEO for the fifth straight year.
Centene's , filed March 8, says Neidorff's pay "appropriately reflects the need for an experienced, seasoned CEO in a high-growth company."Â
The Clayton-based health-care company increased its earnings per share 13 percent last year, excluding unusual items, and its share price rose 14 percent.
Neidorff received $1.5 million in salary last year, unchanged from 2017, and two bonuses: an annual incentive of $4.5 million and a long-term bonus, based on performance for 2016 to 2018, of $2.5 million. The annual bonus was 200 percent of the target amount and the three-year bonus was 184 percent of target.
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He also received $17 million worth of stock, but 60 percent of that is contingent on Centene's meeting sales and profit targets between 2018 and 2020. An earlier performance stock award, for 2016 to 2018, paid out at 149 percent of target.
Neidorff's perquisites included $160,175 of personal travel on company planes, $65,383 in security services and unspecified amounts for financial advice, tax preparation and event tickets.
Centene calculated that Neidorff made 396 times as much as its median employee, up from 379 times in 2017. Median pay for its 47,444 employees was $66,021.
Centene agreed in February to extend Neidorff's contract as CEO until 2023. If he leaves after a takeover, he's entitled to $12 million in severance and bonus payments and can cash in $79.5 million worth of unvested stock.
Here's how much 30 St. Louis CEOs made in 2017:
Meet the 30 top-paid CEOs in St. Louis, 2017 pay
* Jeffrey S. Hollister, American Railcar Industries

Hollister left the company on Dec. 31, .Ìý
30. Timothy D. Boyd, Peak Resorts

In January, .
29. Earl R. Refsland, Allied Healthcare Products

28. Robert L. Montgomery, Reliv International

27. Jon P Vrabely, Huttig Building Products

; CEO earned 20 times as much as median Huttig employee. The company says its 1,300 full- and part-time workers earn a median of $47,091.
26. James B. Lally, Enterprise Financial

.ÌýEnterprise calculates that the CEO made 16 times as much as its median employee, who earned $60,000.Ìý
25. Robert D. Moore, Foresight Energy

From March:Â
24. Mike Anderson, Avadel Pharmaceuticals

.
23. Sharon John, Build-A-Bear Workshop

;ÌýJohn earned 306 times as much last year as the median Build-A-Bear employee. Median pay was $6,198 for the Overland-based company's 4,455 U.S. and British workers.Ìý
22. Eric H. Brunngraber, Cass Information Systems

21. Charles R. Gordon, Aegion

;ÌýGordon made 36 times as much as the median employee's compensation of $73,848. The Chesterfield-based pipe-repair company employs 6,242 people worldwide.
20. V.L. Richey Jr., Esco Technologies

19. Suzanne Sitherwood, Spire

18. Jeffrey S. Davis, Perficient

. Its 2,078 workers in the United States, China and India earned a median $96,193.
17. David P. Hatfield, Edgewell Personal Care

16. David Kemper, Commerce Bancshares

15. Alan R. Hoskins, Energizer

From January:
14. John Stroup, Belden

;Ìýthe CEO earned 133.6 times as much as the median Belden worker, who made $52,487 last year.
13. Anna Manning, Reinsurance Group

;ÌýManning's pay is 66 times as much as the median employee earned last year. Median pay for the company's 2,741 employees was $107,171.
12. Diane M. Sullivan, Caleres Inc.

. Median pay for its 12,055 workers was $21,528 (about 40 percent of its employees are part-time/temporary/seasonal).
11. John E. Fischer, Olin

. Olin employs 6,526 people worldwide.
10. Warner L. Baxter, Ameren

;ÌýBaxter earned 66 times as much as the median Ameren employee. Ameren employs 8,600 people and says they earn a median of $122,003.
9. Robert V. Vitale, Post Holdings

8. John W. Eaves, Arch Coal

.
7. David Farr, Emerson

From February:
6. Ronald J. Kruszewski, Stifel

Stifel reported that its CEO earned 92 times as much as its median employee. .
Mark C. Trudeau, Mallinckrodt

; Mallinckrodt CEO Mark Trudeau's pay in 2017 was 102 times as much as the median company employee, who earned $146,870.
4. Timothy Wentworth, Express Scripts

. Median pay for its 26,600 workers was $52,509.
3. Hugh Grant, Monsanto

From April:
2. Glenn L. Kellow, Peabody Energy

. Peabody's 7,148 employees in the United States and Australia earned a median $118,812 last year.
1. Centene, Michael Neidorff

The CEO earned 379 times as much as the median Centene employee, . The company's 33,312 workers earned a median $66,600, including medical premiums.
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