NEW YORK - Amazon.com paid chief executive officer Jeffrey P. Bezos an US$81,840 salary last year, offering no raise and no stock awards, leaving him among the lowest-paid CEOs running large technology companies.

The remainder of his US$1.68 million total compensation was for security arrangements at “business facilities” and for corporate travel, the Seattle-based company said today in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bezos asked Amazon not to increase his compensation beyond what he received in 2011, and he has never been given more cash than the amount in his current pay package, the company said. Amazon said it aims to give its top executives “a minimum level of cash compensation” because it wants their pay to be tied to building shareholder value.

As Amazon’s founder, Bezos owns almost 87 million shares, or about a 19 per cent stake, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The stock surged 45 per cent in 2012, and that stake is currently worth about US$23.5 billion. Bezos is the world’s 20th-richest person, with a fortune of US$25 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Stock awards helped push Oracle CEO Larry Ellison’s 2012 compensation to US$96.2 million. Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook received a total package valued at US$4.17 million.