Oracle co-founder and chief executive Larry Ellison was the highest-paid CEO in the world last year, taking home $192.9m in total compensation.

Forbes magazine said that Apple chief Steve Jobs, the top earner in 2006, slid to 11th on the list, taking home a modest $14.6m on top of his $1 official annual salary. Jobs cashed in stock options to make $646m in total compensation in 2006.

Number two on the list behind Ellison was Nabel Gareeb, of MEMC Electronic Materials, who received $79.6m in 2007, placing him second in the tech world and sixth among all chief executives.

Cisco chief John Chambers came third with $54.8m, followed by HP's Mark Hurd, who took home $27.6m in his first full year at the helm.

Rounding out the top five was Nvidia chief Jen-Hsung Huang, who took home $24.6m in total compensation for his work with the graphics hardware juggernaut.

Other notable names on the list include IBM chief Samuel Palmisano, who clocked in with $24.3m to claim the sixth spot, and EMC chief Joseph Tucci, who took home $20m and claimed the eighth spot.

Rounding out the top 12 was Sun Microsystems' Jonathan Schwartz, who took home $13.5m over the course of the year. Schwartz ranked 130 among chief executives worldwide.