Highest-Paid Rhode Island CEO Earned $31.3M in 2013

Larry Merlo, head of Woonsocket-based CVS Caremark, earned a compensation package of $31.3 million in 2013—making him the state's highest-paid executive at a publicly traded company, according to a new report.

The AFL-CIO’s 2014 Executive PayWatch tracked the most recent salaries for S&P 500 Index companies.

The report said in Rhode Island, the average worker's salary was $43,489, while the average CEO's salary was $6,830,345.

Nationally, the highest-paid CEO was Oracle head Lawrence Ellison, who earned $78.4 million in 2013.

The top 10 highest-paid CEOs at Rhode Island's publicly traded companies:

1. Larry Merlo (CVS Caremark, Woonsocket): $31.3 million
2. Scott Donnelly (Textron, Providence): $9.9 million
3. Brian Goldner (Hasbro, Pawtucket): $9.7 million
4. Steven Spinner (United Natural Foods, Providence): $4.8 million
5. Michael Clarke (Nortek, Providence): $3.8 million
6. Vincent Sadusky (Lin Media, Providence): $3.8 million
7. David Whalen (Costa, Lincoln): $2 million
8. Joseph MarcAurele (Washington TR Bancorp, Westerly): $1.3 million 
9. Martin Kits Van Heyningen (KVH Industries, Middletown): $1.2 million
10. Jeffrey Thompson (Towerstream, Middletown): $581,909