An engineering graduate from Kolkata has found himself among the world’s highest-paid corporate leaders, but his journey to the top did not begin at an IIT or in Silicon Valley.Shankh Mitra, an Indian-origin executive and the CEO of US-based Welltower, received a compensation package valued at about $821 million for 2025, according to The Wall Street Journal’s annual ranking of top-paid CEOs. That placed him second on the list, behind Tesla CEO Elon Musk.The figure, however, needs some context. It was not a $821 million annual salary. As reported by the Wall Street Journal and subsequently detailed in Welltower’s regulatory filings, the overwhelming majority of Mitra’s 2025 compensation came in the form of stock awards and long-term incentives. His base salary for 2025 was $1.3 million, while the total reported compensation, including stock awards, was about $821.1 million.
From Jadavpur University to Columbia Business School
Mitra’s academic journey began in Kolkata. According to Columbia Business School, he holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Jadavpur University and an MBA in Applied Value Investing from Columbia Business School, where he was also a Dean’s List honoree.His educational background is notable because his undergraduate degree was not from an IIT or NIT. Instead, his engineering education at Jadavpur University became the starting point for a career that eventually took him into the world of global finance and real estate investment.
From PwC to Wall Street
Mitra began his professional career at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He subsequently moved into investment management, working as an analyst at Fidelity Investments and Citadel Investment Group.He later joined Millennium Management, where he worked as a portfolio manager specialising in real estate securities. His experience in investment analysis, portfolio management and risk assessment eventually brought him to Welltower in 2016.According to Welltower’s official profile, Mitra joined the company as Senior Vice President for Finance and Investments. He rose rapidly through the organisation, becoming Senior Vice President for Investments in 2018 and Chief Investment Officer later that year.In October 2020, just four years after joining the company, he became Welltower’s Chief Executive Officer.
What does Welltower do?
One common misconception is that Welltower is a healthcare company. In fact, it is a healthcare-focused real estate investment trust.Welltower invests in properties and infrastructure connected to senior housing, post-acute care and healthcare systems. Its business therefore sits at the intersection of real estate, finance and healthcare.Under Mitra’s leadership, the company has continued to expand its investments in senior housing and healthcare infrastructure.
Why is his compensation so high?
The $821 million figure has attracted enormous attention, but it is important to understand how the package was structured.Welltower’s 2026 proxy filing shows that approximately $813 million of Mitra’s reported 2025 compensation came from stock awards. The company also introduced a long-term compensation arrangement under which substantial portions of the awards are subject to time-based and performance-based conditions.In other words, the headline figure should not be interpreted as money deposited into his bank account as a one-year salary. A significant portion represents the value assigned to shares and incentives that are tied to long-term performance and other conditions.
A different kind of success story
Mitra’s career offers an interesting lesson for students because it challenges the idea that an IIT degree is the only route to global corporate leadership.His journey began with engineering at Jadavpur University, followed by an MBA at Columbia Business School. He then built expertise across accounting, investment management, portfolio strategy and real estate before moving into senior leadership at Welltower.His story also demonstrates how careers can evolve in unexpected directions. An engineering graduate can move into finance, specialise in investments and eventually lead a major publicly traded company.For students looking at career options, Shankh Mitra’s journey is a reminder that a strong academic foundation is only the beginning. Building expertise, developing financial and analytical skills, gaining experience across industries and understanding how businesses create value can open doors far beyond one’s original field of study.
