Private equity tycoon Stephen Schwarzman was today declared America's highest paid executive as he made a $702 million (£425 million) bundle from his Blackstone buyout giant.

His enormous pay package came despite private equity suffering in the recession from a lack of bank financing for takeover deals.

Schwarzman, 62, made $2.3 million in salary (�1.4 million) plus almost $700 million (�423 million) from the vesting of shares in Blackstone which were granted to him when he floated the firm in 2007.

He will get similar installments over the next four years, meaning he will probably retain his gold medal position on the American executive pay rostrum until at least 2013.

The list was published at a time of great public scrutiny of Wall Street pay. Today, Barack Obama's pay tsar Kenneth Feinberg will receive pay proposals for top executives from banks who have been bailed out by the US taxpayer. He will rule on whether they are acceptable within 60 days.

Schwarzman overtook Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison in the pay league drawn up by corporate governance researcher Corporate Library.

Ellison, 62, got $557 million including $543 million in share options he cashed in.

Seven of the top earners were running energy companies. Ray Irani of Occidental Petroleum made $222.6 million, John Hess of Hess Group made $159.6 million and Michael D Watford of Ultra Petroleum made $116.9 million, according to the report.