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US CEO Compensation Hits $5.7 Billion In 2023, Equal To 90,000 Workers’ Salaries
31 Jul 2024, 2:41 pm GMT+1
The top 10 highest-paid US CEOs collectively earned nearly $6 billion in 2023, enough to pay around 90,000 average workers. This shows the growing disparity between executive compensation and worker wages. How does this divide continue to shape discussions on income inequality and corporate rewards?
Stocklytics shares report highlights that the top 10 highest-paid CEOs in the US collectively earned nearly $6 billion last year, a figure large enough to cover the annual wages of approximately 90,000 average workers. This report underscores a growing concern about the widening gap between executive pay and worker salaries. As companies continue to report strong profits and stock market gains, the increase in CEO compensation highlights a troubling disparity in how the rewards of corporate success are shared.
"While it’s impressive that companies are thriving and stock market performance remains strong, the growing gap between CEO compensation and average worker wages highlights serious concerns about income inequality. The persistence of high CEO rewards in 2023, despite substantial corporate profits, underscores a troubling disparity in how the benefits of a company’s success are distributed,” said Edith Reads Stocklytics financial analyst.
Top earners in 2023
The annual pay for top executives saw a huge increase in 2023. Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, topped the list with an impressive $1.4 billion in earnings. This high pay matches Tesla’s successful year, as it made a profit for the fourth year in a row, with nearly $15 billion in net income and a nearly 19% rise in revenue from 2022. Despite the large amount, this pay reflects the significant growth in Tesla’s performance.
Alexander Karp, CEO of Palantir Technologies, earned $1.1 billion. Karp’s significant pay mirrors Palantir’s profitable contracts with the US military and other major corporations. Third on the list is Hock Tan, CEO of Broadcom, who received $766 million. Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase Global, earned over $681 million, placing him fourth. Oracle CEO Safra Catz completes the top five with over $304 million, making her the only woman in the top ten. Her substantial compensation highlights her role in Oracle’s recent acquisition activities.
Rising CEO-to-Worker pay gap
The disparity between CEO salaries and average worker wages has continued to grow, with executives earning more than 344 times the average worker’s pay in 2022, a gap that has likely widened in 2023. This growing inequality has sparked widespread concern and discontent among employees.
Kelly Malafis, a founding partner of Compensation Advisory Partners, comments: “In this post-pandemic market, the desire is for boards to reward and retain CEOs when they feel they have a good leader in place.”
The high levels of executive compensation have led to criticism and protests, such as the Hollywood writer’s strike against Disney CEO Bob Iger, who earns 500 times more than the average Disney employee. Sarah Anderson from the Institute for Policy Studies argues that these pay gaps contribute significantly to public dissatisfaction with the economy.
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