GoPro director Nick Woodman is set to be named the highest-paid CEO of 2014 at the tender age of 39 . The pioneering camera innovator clinched the title after being granted 4.5 million restricted stock units - valued at $ 284.5 million - at the end of the year . It won him the top spot on the annual Bloomberg Pay Index . Slumping to second place , Chenerie Energy 's Houston-based chief executive Charif Souki was valued at $ 281 million . And now the firm has announced it is cutting his pay . In his prime : GoPro creator Nick Woodman , 39 , is set to be named America 's highest-paid CEO of 2014 . Woodman 's product - a camera which can be fixed to helmets , the body , or a hand-held pole - made waves in when it debuted in 2006 . They are used by professionals and hobbyists conquering six-foot waves , treacherous ski slopes , scrappy dirt track races and bungee jumps . The cameras have also been used to film inside of the mouths of alligators , sharks and polar bears - and Woodman 's wife Jill giving birth to one of their sons . The Californian surfing couple have come a long way since the business was founded in 2004 with one product : a waterproof film camera . Before sales took off , Woodman posed as the model for their self-made adverts . But his posing days did n't last long . In 2006 , the firm launched its first digital camera . Three years later it began selling a high-definition camera . The cameras are light , small and waterproof . They have other uses besides sports . TV producers use them to film in areas where big professional cameras ca n't go . Since launching its high-definition camera in 2009 , it has sold 8.5 million of them , including 3.8 million in 2013 . Its cameras are sold in more than 25,000 stores and cost between $ 200 and $ 400 . The day the company first went public , they sold 3.6 million shares of GoPro stock to rake in an astounding $ 86 million before taxes . The pioneering camera innovator clinched the title after being granted 4.5 million restricted stock units - valued at $ 284.5 million - at the end of the year . Woodman 's product - a camera which can be fixed to helmets , the body , or a hand-held pole - made waves in when it debuted in 2006 . Before sales took off , Woodman posed as the model for their self-made adverts ( pictured behind Woodman , his wife Jill and their two children ) . But his posing days did n't last long . Woodman 's shares were worth slightly more than $ 1.2 billion at the IPO price . As stock prices continue to increase , and including some of Woodman 's other assets , Forbes estimates that his net worth is now more than $ 2.3 billion . Chinese tech manufacturer Foxconn , which owns about 11 million shares of GoPro stock that are worth a collective $ 425 million . Riverwood Capital , a private equity firm , currently has about $ 650 million in GoPro stock . Nick Woodman is the founder and CEO of GoPro , a camera which can be fixed to helmets , the body , equipment or a hand-held pole . They are used by professionals and hobbyists conquering 6ft waves , treacherous ski slopes , scrappy dirt track races and bungee jumps . The cameras have also been used to film inside of the mouths of alligators , sharks and polar bears - and Woodman 's wife giving birth to one of their sons . They are WiFi capable , typically come with remotes for control and have a capacity of 64GB currently . They are also versatile thanks to numerous add-ons , including LCD screens , and the most expensive model is $ 400 . Woodman 's father , Dean , has also found himself an overnight millionaire . The elder Woodman loaned his son $ 200,000 to help get GoPro off the ground . Dean Woodman - who sold none of his shares at the IPO - now owns $ 280 million in GoPro shares . As Forbes notes , that is a 140,000 percent return on his initial $ 200,000 investment . Its list of competitors is short , but growing . Consumer electronics companies Garmin , Samsung and Sony have all entered the market . GoPro had the best-selling camcorder in 2013 , according to government paperwork filed by the company . It also sells accessories such as cases , battery packs and mounts that help users attach their cameras to surfboards , helmets or their wrists . It also has a free app and software that lets users edit , store and publish their videos to their social media accounts including Facebook , Instagram , Twitter and YouTube . Additional growth may come from the wild videos its cameras create , which the company hopes to use to create a media company . The Bloomberg Pay Index tracks the 100 highest-paid executives in firms that trade on US exchanges . The pay package is assessed by tracking each company 's stock prices , which changes the value of their equity awards . Slumping to second place , Chenerie Energy 's Houston-based chief executive Charif Souki ( pictured ) was valued at $ 281 million . And now the firm has announced it is cutting his pay .
Nick Woodman 's dynamic cameras became instant success in nine years later . Before they took off , he acted as the model for the self-made adverts . Now , 2006 , he is a billionaire and top of Bloomberg Pay Index .