CEOs now make 268 times as much as their workers, on average
The average CEO pay for S&P 500 company increased 6% in 2023 from the previous year, according to a report released Thursday by the AFL-CIO, a national trade union.
The average CEO pay for S&P 500 companies was $17.7 million, compared to an average of about $66,000 workers at those companies made. The average worker would have to had started making $66,000 per year every year since 1755 to earn what their made in one year, they point out.
Charter Communications, Delta Airlines, Johnson & Johnson and Starbucks were among those that gave their CEOs the most generous pay bumps at 470%, 256% and 117% respectively.
The employment cost index for workers in the private sector rose 4.1% year-on-year as of the second quarter of 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"While corporate profits and stock prices surge, working people’s wages aren’t keeping up,” said Fred Redmond, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO.
Charter was also among the companies with the widest pay disparity between the average worker and its CEO, with Chris Winfrey making 1,635 times more than his average employee.
Shares of Charter Communications are down about 7% year to date, leaving it in 399th place among S&P 500 constituents.
