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CAREER & COMPENSATION

The highest paid mortgage executives in 2025

By Andrew Martinez
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Published May 7, 2026 6:00 AM
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Updated May 7, 2026 6:00 AM
1 Min Read

Compensation for leaders at publicly traded mortgage giants wavered last year, although a few executives received massive stock awards.

Rocket Cos. CEO Varun Krishna led the field with $52.9 million in total compensation in 2025, according to the company's annual report. Like his peers however, the majority of his earnings came in stock-related awards, although the Rocket boss still received a cash payout of over $5.2 million.

The Detroit-based giant compensated five executives a combined $131.2 million, over $90 million of which was reported in stock-related awards. That total sum outpaced other Wall Street mortgage players, whose fortunes and executive pay rose and fell with their company performance.

Compensation data is derived from the companies' annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in recent weeks. It's unknown how the public salaries compare to compensation for leaders of non-bank lenders — whose private jets, stakes in professional sports teams and other endeavors hint at potentially deeper pockets. 

Meanwhile, the median employee salary rose at some of the reporting companies. Scroll through to see how much public mortgage executives were paid last year and how that compared to 2024. 

Rocket Cos.

Jay Bray, the former Mr. Cooper chairman and CEO, received $20 million to cover acquisition-related taxes. There were 23,500 employees under the Rocket umbrella at the end of 2025. The median employee salary, a figure which excludes 8,800 employees from the firm's Redfin and Mr. Cooper acquisitions, rose from $99,841 last year to $112,820. 

United Wholesale Mortgage

Mat Ishbia waived $6 million in bonuses to fund bonuses for other senior leaders. 

The company spent $3 million in personal security services and equipment for Ishbia, the highest for any mortgage CEO according to SEC filings. UWM also paid $20.8 million last year for office space and parking lots owned by entities controlled by Mat Ishbia and his father, UWM founder Jeff Ishbia.

The company's headcount of around 9,100 team members was similar to 2024, while the median employee salary fell slightly to $42,668.

PennyMac Financial Services

Executive compensation was negatively impacted by fiscal year 2023 performance-based restricted stock unit grants that vested at only 37%, according to an SEC filing. 

The Southern California-based lender and servicer had 5,546 employees at the end of the year, up 10% from the previous year, and reported a median employee salary of $79,214, down 9% annually.

Loandepot

Founder and returning CEO Anthony Hsieh had an official salary of $1. 

The lender and servicer, which is coming off a yearslong restructuring, said it had 5,660 employees at the end of 2025, a 15% increase from 2024. It also reported a median employee salary of $51,680, also an increase.

Better

Vishal Garg received a significant stock award in performance stock units, after taking $0 in bonuses and $0 in stock in 2024, when Better endured growing pains.

Better increased its headcount from 2024 by 19% to 1,329 employees, and their median salary was $65,440, also a slight annual increase.

Rithm

Michael Nierenberg, who's led the company for over a decade, received a $7.4 million cash bonus last year, the highest performance-based payout among fellow public mortgage CEOs. 

The Newrez owner reported a global workforce of 7,240 employees at the end of the year, up nearly 20% from 2024. The median employee salary was $74,118, down 3% annually. 

Onity

The West Palm Beach, Florida-based servicer reported a total workforce of 4,300 employees, around 75% of which are based offshore in India and the Philippines. Its median employee salary for 2025 was $37,674, a small annual raise.

TWO

A real estate investment trust, TWO reported 185 employees as of Dec. 31, with a median employee salary rising from $188,400 last year to $205,440. 

According to SEC filings related to its pending acquisition by CrossCountry Mortgage, Greenberg could receive an around $18.6 million "golden parachute" payout if he's terminated in the merger.

Finance of America

Finance of America reported 784 employees at the end of last year, and a median employee salary of $115,550, up slightly from 2024. The headcount was a small increase from 2024, as the reverse mortgage lender wound down its payroll from over 5,800 employees at the end of 2021. 

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Andrew Martinez
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Andrew Martinez joined National Mortgage News in January 2022. He previously worked at Bisnow, covering commercial real estate news in the Boston... Read full bio
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