How did CEOs do in 2019?

The EPI article CEO compensation surged 14% in 2019 to $21.3 million – CEOs now earn 320 times as much as a typical worker by Lawrence Mishel and Jori Kandra (8/18/2020) provides a detailed analysis of CEO pay. There are 6 charts/tables in the article with data as well as 9 key findings such as:

Over the last three decades, compensation grew far faster for CEOs than it did for other very highly paid workers (the top 0.1%, or those earning more than 99.9% of wage earners).

Even though CEO compensation grew much faster than the earnings of the top 0.1% of wage earners, that doesn’t mean the top 0.1% did not fare well. Quite the contrary. The inflation-adjusted annual earnings of the top 0.1% grew 337% from 1978 to 2018. CEO compensation, however, grew three times as fast!

Over the last three decades, CEO compensation increased more relative to the pay of other very-high-wage earners than did the wages of college graduates relative to the wages of high school graduates.

About Thomas J. Pfaff

Thomas J. Pfaff is a Professor of Mathematics at Ithaca College. He created this website because he believes that sustainability, ranging from climate change to social justice, should be included in all courses whenever possible.

Check Also

Is the world using less fossil fuels?

Nope. Wind and solar energy have increased, but so have coal, natural gas, and oil. …