Level 3, Oracle CEOs Rake In the Dough

Bosses from some of the biggest communications companies are on a new list of the best compensated CEOs.

Bloomberg ranked the execs after looking at how more than 11,000 CEOs at public companies in the U.S. are compensated. Salary obviously is a factor, but bonuses, equity stakes and stock options were also considered.

Larry Ellison of Oracle topped the list with $96.2 million. More than $90 million of that is in stock options. Bloomberg estimates Ellison’s net worth at $39 billion, making him one of the wealthiest men on the planet.

James Crowe, who this year left his post atop Colorado-based Level 3 Communications, comes in 14th on the list, with total compensation of $40.7 million approximately $24 million of that in stock and $13 million in options. Bloomberg says those numbers cover the span of this three-year contract with the company. Not bad considering Level 3’s stock price has dropped 6 percent in 2013.

CEOs of CBS, Discovery Communications and Liberty Media also cracked the top 15.

Follow senior online managing editor @Craig_Galbraith on Twitter.