UAW President Sean Fain has made the issue timely in the union’s strike against automakers’ Big Three, but the AFL-CIO “Executive Paywatch” report underscores how pervasive the imbalance has become.
S&P 500 Index CEO pay has increased $5 million over the past decade, according to the latest findings, based on Securities and Exchange filings for 2022.
Last year, CEOs of those corporations received, on average, $16.7 million in total compensation. That by itself is revealing, but what’s worse is the average CEO-to-worker pay ratio. Last year, the pay ratio comparing CEO pay and worker pay was 272-to-1 for S&P 500 Index companies.
“Overall, U.S. workers’ real hourly wages fell in 2022 for the second year in a row, down 1.6% after adjusting for inflation,” the report shows.
Publicly traded companies are required to disclose the pay ratio between their Chief Executive Officers and median (midpoint) pay of their employees.
“High CEO-to-worker pay ratios contribute to economic inequality and can undermine employee morale and productivity,” the report comments.
Here were the nation’s 10 highest-paid CEOs in 2022 –
1. Stephen Schwarzman, Blackstone Inc. $253,122,146; 1,068:1 pay ratio
2. Sundar Pichai, Alphabet Inc. (Google) $225,985,145; 808:1 pay ratio
3. Stephen Scherr, Hertz Global Holdings Inc. $182,136,137; 4,983:1 pay ratio
4. Barry McCarthy, Peloton Interactive Inc. $168,073,420; 2,299:1 pay ratio
5. Michael Rapino, Live Nation Entertainment Inc. $139,005,565; 5,414:1 pay ratio
6. Safra Catz, Oracle Corp. $138,192,032; 1,842:1 pay ratio
7. Douglas Ingram, Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. $124,938,694; 494:1 pay ratio
8. Bill Ready, Pinterest Inc. $122,651,735; 999:1 pay ratio
9. Kiwi Camara, CS Disco Inc. $109,531,440; Undisclosed pay ratio
10. Carl Eschenbach, Co-CEO Workday Inc. $102,685,309; 439:1 pay ratio
Commenting on Schwarzman, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond said the hedge-fund billionaire “took home almost a quarter of a billion dollars in just one year. It’s almost inconceivable.
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Redmond continued, “and working people are starting to fight back.”
Other familiar multinational companies based in the United States –
Tim Cook, CEO Apple, Inc. $99,420,097; 1,177:1 pay ratio
Douglas Herrington, CEO, Amazon.com worldwide stores $43,215,779; 1264:1 pay ratio
David Zaslav, CEO Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. $39,288,458; 227:1 pay ratio
Brian Roberts, CEO Comcast Corp. $32,069,850; 385:1 pay ratio
Robert Iger, CEO Walt Disney Co. $14,998,299; 276:1 pay ratio
In Illinois, “Executive Paywatch” reports the average S&P 500 CEO pay in 2022 was $14,850,449, and the average worker pay (according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) was $73,729. The S&P 500 CEO-to-worker pay ratio in Illinois was 201:1
Illinois’ top 10 in outlandish CEO-to-worker pay ratio is below, with the dollar figure the median worker pay at that employer, followed by the [pay ratio] –
McDonald's Corporation $14,521 [1,224:1]
Ulta Beauty, Inc. $14,998 [901:1]
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. $24,530 [705:1]
Mondelez International, Inc. $35,707 [502:1]
Archer-Daniels-Midland Company $68,383 [362:1]
LKQ Corporation $34,099 [315:1]
Illinois Tool Works Inc. $71,962 [309:1]
Baxter International Inc. $46,830 [290:1]
Dover Corporation $51,237 [276:1]
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $58,776 [242:1]
Just below those top-heavy ratios are –
The Allstate Corporation $66,189 [226:1], Conagra Brands, Inc. $57,855 [206:1], Motorola Solutions, Inc. $107,215 [196:1, and Deere & Co. $124,321 [163:1
Also, two major employers of local interest but not headquartered in the state are Caterpillar Inc. (now based in Texas) $56,930 [362:1] and Ameren Corp. $112,030 [66:1]
For some context, a sampling of other countries’ pay ratios of CEO to worker pay, as compiled by statista.com – China 127:1, Canada 149:1, Netherlands 171:1, and South Africa 180:1.
“Too many working people across the country are struggling to afford the basics, much less save for college or retirement,” the report comments. “Some states serve as stark examples of the incredible gap between CEOs and the hardworking people who make their companies profitable.
CEO pay by sector
S&P 500 company CEO pay was the highest in the communication services industry in 2022. The average ratio of CEO-to-worker pay is also the highest in the communication services industry, where Live Nation Entertainment had the highest CEO-to-worker pay ratio in the S&P 500 Index of 5,414-to-1.
|
Industry |
Average CEO Pay |
Average Pay Ratio |
|
Communication Services |
$37,581,870 |
508:1 |
|
Consumer Discretionary |
$14,035,044 |
480:1 |
|
Consumer Staples |
$14,629,942 |
407:1 |
|
Energy |
$16,288,704 |
118:1 |
|
Financials |
$17,672,213 |
218:1 |
|
Health Care |
$15,991,308 |
225:1 |
|
Industrials |
$13,299,271 |
196:1 |
|
Information Technology |
$22,215,146 |
357:1 |
|
Materials |
$14,015,577 |
218:1 |
|
Real Estate |
$14,145,284 |
168:1 |
|
Utilities |
$10,735,588 |
94:1 |
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