If the top 50 highest paid executives in the Pittsburgh region threw their 2019 earnings into a pot, it would total nearly half a billion dollars. Some Fortunate 50 executives in this year’s list are mainstays. Others popped in for the first time, making an appearance to collect a hefty severance. Their earnings were anywhere between 33 and 1,000 times higher than a median employee’s at their companies, according to corporate proxy documents submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Fortunate 50 list shows total compensation, which is a sum of the following: base salaries, bonuses, the estimated value of stock and option awards that have not vested, pension and deferred compensation benefits, perks, severance payments, and other compensation. It reflects what these executives earned during the past year, not necessarily what they collected, and does not include the value of restricted stock awarded in prior years that vested during the most recent fiscal year. Nor does it include income realized during the most recent fiscal year from exercising stock options awarded in prior years.