CEO pay has been described as obscenely high by investors, worker activists, and the press. How, these groups ask, can one person be worth millions or even tens of millions of dollars in compensation each year? Asked another way, how can one person be paid so much more than company employees? For example, Aptiv Plc CEO Kevin P. Clark made almost 2,000 more than his employees.
Corporate boards have an answer. A chief executive officer who adds billions of dollars of value to a company’s stock deserves a rich reward. So do CEOs who turn around struggling companies or significantly boost earnings. (These are the largest fortune 500 companies still led by their founders.)
Part of the federal government’s efforts to curb high pay is a program that lets investors vote on senior management compensation. Proxies now include a “say on pay” section in which shareholders can vote about whether management compensation is excessive. However, these votes have no teeth. They cannot force the hands of a board of directors.
Proxies also have to show the ratio of CEO pay to the pay of the median worker at the company. A recent Harvard study showed that CEO pay at public corporations is back on the rise after initial pandemic adjustments, based on data filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission so far this year. The authors wrote, “In 2021, median total direct compensation for companies included in the analysis increased to $14.3 million. This change from $12 million in 2020 would represent a near 20% increase, should the trend persist.”
It is not unusual for a CEO to make several times the median pay of workers at the company. To find CEO pay ratios, 24/7 Wall St. used data provided by MyLogIQ, which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze SEC data. According to the data, at investment bank Goldman Sachs, for example, the ratio was 238 to 1. At AT&T, the figure was 231 to 1.
Kevin Clark of Aptive made 1,992 more than the median employee at the company did, with employees including both workers in the United States and overseas. The company is based in Dublin but trades on a U.S. exchange, so it has to file its financial and proxies in the U.S.
Last year, Clark made $14,744,780. The median worker’s pay at Aptive, meanwhile, was $7,402. Aptive supplies technology, primarily to the auto industry. According to its 10-K, the company’s revenue last year was $15.6 billion, up from $13 billion the year before. Net income, however, dropped from $1.8 billion to $609 million. (While Clark makes almost 2,000 more than his employees, this American CEO made $247 million last year.)
Click here to see this CEO made almost 2,000 times more than his employees
Source: Global Payments Inc / Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
25. Jeffrey S. Sloan
> Company: Global Payments Inc
> CEO pay ratio: 415x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $23.3 million
> Median worker compensation: $56,202
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Source: O'Reilly Automotive Inc / Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
24. Greg D. Johnson
> Company: O’Reilly Automotive Inc
> CEO pay ratio: 454x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $12.8 million
> Median worker compensation: $28,113
24/7 Wall St.
Source: Scott Halleran / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
23. Julie Sweet
> Company: Accenture Plc
> CEO pay ratio: 473x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $23.1 million
> Median worker compensation: $48,770
Source: Joe Raedle / Getty Images News via Getty Images
22. Silviu Popovici
> Company: Pepsico Inc
> CEO pay ratio: 488x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $25.5 million
> Median worker compensation: $52,297
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Source: Pool / Getty Images News via Getty Images
21. William C. Rhodes Iii
> Company: Autozone Inc
> CEO pay ratio: 488x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $14.8 million
> Median worker compensation: $30,375
Source: JHVEPhoto / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
20. Anthony G. Capuano
> Company: Marriott International Inc
> CEO pay ratio: 506x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $18.5 million
> Median worker compensation: $36,505
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Source: J. MichaeEditorial / Getty Images
19. Wendell P. Weeks
> Company: Corning Inc
> CEO pay ratio: 509x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $20.8 million
> Median worker compensation: $40,760
24/7 Wall St.
Source: Amanda Edwards / Getty Images
18. David M. Zaslav
> Company: Discovery, Inc.
> CEO pay ratio: 527x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $43.7 million
> Median worker compensation: $82,964
Source: via Facebook / courtesy of BorgWarner
17. Frederic B. Lissalde
> Company: Borgwarner Inc
> CEO pay ratio: 554x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $17.6 million
> Median worker compensation: $31,740
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Source: Koichi Kamoshida / Getty Images News via Getty Images
16. Douglas L. Peterson
> Company: S&P Global Inc.
> CEO pay ratio: 580x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $16.1 million
> Median worker compensation: $27,835
Source: Sundry Photography / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
15. Terrence R. Curtin
> Company: Te Connectivity Ltd.
> CEO pay ratio: 589x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $14.7 million
> Median worker compensation: $24,975
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Source: Gerardo Mora / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
14. Robert A. Chapek
> Company: Walt Disney Co
> CEO pay ratio: 644x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $32.5 million
> Median worker compensation: $50,430
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Source: Sundry Photography / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
13. Vincent T. Roche
> Company: Analog Devices Inc
> CEO pay ratio: 668x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $30.8 million
> Median worker compensation: $46,141
Source: via Facebook / courtesy of Whirlpool Corporation
12. Marc R. Bitzer
> Company: Whirlpool Corp
> CEO pay ratio: 692x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $18.8 million
> Median worker compensation: $27,128
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Source: Alex Wong / Getty Images News via Getty Images
11. Thomas M. Rutledge
> Company: Charter Communications, Inc.
> CEO pay ratio: 698x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $41.9 million
> Median worker compensation: $60,007
Source: Courtesy of Avery Dennison Corp
10. Mitchell R. Butier
> Company: Avery Dennison Corp
> CEO pay ratio: 815x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $12.4 million
> Median worker compensation: $15,256
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Source: via Facebook / courtesy of Las Vegas Sands Corp
9. Robert G. Goldsteinceo
> Company: Las Vegas Sands Corp
> CEO pay ratio: 866x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $31.1 million
> Median worker compensation: $35,879
Source: Michael Vi / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
8. Liam K. Griffin
> Company: Skyworks Solutions, Inc.
> CEO pay ratio: 928x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $16.2 million
> Median worker compensation: $17,409
Source: Riccardo Savi / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
7. Jacek Olczak
> Company: Philip Morris International Inc.
> CEO pay ratio: 1,055x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $19.2 million
> Median worker compensation: $18,196
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Source: Mario Tama / Getty Images News via Getty Images
6. Tim D. Cook
> Company: Apple Inc
> CEO pay ratio: 1,447x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $98.7 million
> Median worker compensation: $68,254
Source: Brandon Bell / Getty Images News via Getty Images
5. Patrik Frisk
> Company: Under Armour, Inc.
> CEO pay ratio: 1,485x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $15.5 million
> Median worker compensation: $10,466
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Source: Scott Olson / Getty Images News via Getty Images
4. Kevin R. Johnson
> Company: Starbucks Corp
> CEO pay ratio: 1,579x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $20.4 million
> Median worker compensation: $12,935
Source: Ethan Miller / Getty Images News via Getty Images
3. Arnold W. Donald
> Company: Carnival Corp
> CEO pay ratio: 1,740x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $15.1 million
> Median worker compensation: $8,658
Source: Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images
2. James Quincey
> Company: Coca Cola Co
> CEO pay ratio: 1,791x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $24.9 million
> Median worker compensation: $13,894
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Source: Sundry Photography / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
1. Kevin P. Clark
> Company: Aptiv Plc
> CEO pay ratio: 1,992x higher than the median employee
> Total compensation: $14.7 million
> Median worker compensation: $7,402
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