Chief executive officers carry some weighty responsibilities. But they also take home some hefty paychecks.

The Associated Press has compiled a list of the top 50 highest-paid CEOs based on their 2011 compensation. The list is put together using Equilar data and crossed against the S&P 500. CEOs must have been in place for two years to qualify for the list. Compensation is defined as salary, perks, bonuses, preferential interest rates on deferred pay and stock options and awards.

Here are the top 10 from the list:

1. David Simon — Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG), $137.2 million
2. Leslie Moonves — CBS (NYSE:CBS), $68.4 million
3. David M. Zaslav — Discovery Communications (NASDAQ:DISCA), $52,4 million
4. Sanjay K. Jha — Motorola Mobility (NYSE:MMI), $47.2 million
5. Phillippe P. Dauman — Viacom (NASDAQ:VIAB), $43.1 million
6. David M. Cote — Honeywell International (NYSE:HON), $35.7 million
7. Robert A. Iger — Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS), $31.4 million
8. Clarence P Cazalot Jr. — Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO), $29.9 million
9. John P. Daane — Altera (NASDAQ:ALTR), $29.6 million
10. Alan Mulally — Ford Motors (NYSE:F), $29.5 million

The full list can be seen here.

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• Where State Troopers Can Make Nearly $500K Per Year