CEO pay gap concerns are growing again after a new analysis found that compensation for Americaโs top executives rose far faster than
wages for ordinary workers in 2025.
Data analyzed by the Associated Press from executive compensation firm Equilar showed that the median pay package for CEOs at S&P 500 companies reached $17.7 million last year, up about 6% from the previous year.
Meanwhile, median employee pay increased 4.7% to $89,744.
While workers did see modest raises, the difference between executive and employee compensation remains staggering.
Some CEOs Earn More Than 1,700 Times Their Workers
The numbers were especially dramatic at companies with large low-wage workforces.
At The Coca-Cola Company, CEO compensation was roughly 1,739 times greater than the company’s median employee salary of $17,947.
At TJX Companies, the parent company of TJ Maxx, the gap was even wider at approximately 1,774-to-1.
According to the report, employees at half of the companies surveyed would need nearly 200 years of work to earn what their CEO makes in a single year.
That figure increased from 192 years in the previous study.
The widening CEO pay gap has fueled renewed debate over income inequality at a time when many Americans continue to struggle with rising housing, healthcare, and living costs.
Stock Awards Drive Executive Compensation Higher
A major factor behind soaring CEO compensation is the growing use of stock-based awards.
Many corporations now tie executive pay to performance targets such as stock price growth, market value expansion, and earnings improvements.
Companies are also offering large one-time retention packages to prevent high-profile executives from leaving.
The largest compensation package belonged to Elon Musk of Tesla, whose proposed stock award package was valued at approximately $132.3 billion.
The package is entirely stock-based and depends on Tesla achieving ambitious goals over the next decade, including market capitalization targets, electric vehicle sales milestones, robotaxi network deployment, and humanoid robot development.
Other top earners included Shankh Mitra of Welltower, who received stock awards valued at $821.1 million, and Hock Tan of Broadcom, whose compensation package included approximately $205.3 million in stock awards tied to AI-related growth targets.
Critics Say the Divide Is Becoming Unsustainable
The growing CEO pay gap continues to draw criticism from labor advocates and economic policy groups.
Sarah Anderson, director of the Global Economy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, argued that executive compensation is rising while many households struggle to keep up with inflation and daily expenses.
โOrdinary families are facing increasing financial pressure, while CEO pay keeps climbing,โ Anderson said. โThe imbalance has become extreme.โ
Not every executive followed the trend, however.
Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway earned $389,488 last year, a 4% decline from the previous year.
Still, the broader picture remains clear: executive compensation continues to grow at a pace that far outstrips worker pay, keeping the debate over corporate inequality firmly in the spotlight.
