New York: 

Geniuses: Francisco D'Souza (left) and Shantanu Narayen have a joint annual income of Rs 68 crore

Two young corporate leaders of Indian origin have been ranked by Forbes magazine among 15 highest-paid chief executives officers in the US below the age of 45, making a cool $15.7 million (Rs 68 crore) per annum between them, not counting the millions more in stock options.

Shantanu Narayen (44) is the CEO of Adobe Systems since December 2007 and Francisco D'Souza (39) the CEO of Cognizant Technology since January last year. "Young CEOs are becoming an endangered species," Forbes said.

Big bucks

Hyderabad-born Narayen makes $12 million (Rs 52 crore) per annum and ranks fifth on the list. Apart from the top-notch salary, he also has stock options that are worth $26.3 million (Rs 115 crore) at current rates.

A son of an Indian diplomat, D'Souza makes $3.7 million (Rs 16 crore) per month and ranks 15th on the Forbes list. He also has stock options worth $23.82 million (Rs 103 crore) at current rates.