The average CEO of the US’s 100 largest, lowest-paying corporations earned 614 times more than their average worker last year, according to an analysis by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS).
IPS’s latest executive excess report analyzed compensation at the 100 S&P 500 corporations with the lowest median worker pay. Between 2019 and 2025, CEO compensation increased 41.4%, unadjusted for inflation, twice as much as the median worker pay increased at these firms during the same period, at 20.7%.
Inflation also outpaced worker pay increases, rising by 25.9%.
The CEO-to-worker pay ratio at the low-wage 100 firms increased 8.4% between 2019 and 2025.
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Imagine preparing a group presentation for class. One designs the slides and illustrations, one does research, one some hands-on stuff, and one coordinates, plans and manages the group.
The presentation is a success. But the one who managed got the best grade, while the others got medium or bad grades.
Doesn’t seem fair, or does it?
This is capitalism in its current form.
Everyone contributes to the success of the project, company, institution. Everyone depends on each other for it, so the value of labour is rather evenly distributed. But for some arbitrary reason, those at the top just skim the profits that is generated by those beneath them, instead of distributing fairly.
There are companies that do it differently. With success. For example, https://www.wired.com/story/safetywing-remote-work-equal-salaries/
Let’s keep aiming for this change.