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Why American CEOs Aren’t Paid Enough
How the ordinary person fails to understand the enormous pressures that come with being at the very top of the heap.
Most people are aware that American, and specifically US, CEOs are paid quite handsomely. Few, however, know just how rich the CEO pot has become.
Data released by the Economic Policy Institute show that in 1965 the ratio of CEO pay to average salary was 20:1. That is, back in 1965 the average worker was earning around $4,800 per year and the average CEO was earning $96,000. Inflation since then has made these numbers look small, but to put things into perspective the average US house price in 1965 was a whisker under $20,000.
Today however the ratio of CEO pay to average salary has changed somewhat. The ratio is now 278:1. Yes, that’s right: the typical CEO earns two hundred and seventy-eight times as much as the average worker.
In other words, in the years since 1965, CEOs and a small number of other top executives have captured nearly all the net profits generated by America’s corporations.
Many people think this is unfair.
And they’re right, but not in the way they imagine.
What’s truly unfair is how little the typical US CEO takes home each year. In 2018, average CEO take-home compensation was a paltry $17.2…
