Shocker: These Companies Have the Widest CEO-to-Worker Pay Gap
Widening the Gap
The gap between rich and poor is widening, and nowhere is it more apparent than American CEO salaries. While inflation is hammering us little guys, CEOs have figured out how to make skyrocketing prices, labor shortages, and a global pandemic work to line their pockets with even more money. In 2021, CEOs were paid 399 times more than their typical worker — that's a 1,460% increase in average pay since 1978.
Just how wide is the gulf between CEO and worker pay? A recent study by Switch On Business analyzed 100 of America's largest companies to find the one where the wage gap between the CEO and its average worker is the largest. Here are the top 10 companies with the biggest disparities. Hint: you've probably already guessed most of them.
Related: These Big-Name Companies Still Pay Most Workers Under $15 an Hour
1. Amazon - Andrew Jassy
CEO annual salary: $212.7 million ($24,618 hourly)
Annual salary of median worker: $32,855
Amount of time an employee would have to work to reach CEO pay: 6,473.9 years
Big surprise! Amazon has the largest wage gap between the CEO and its median employees. If Andrew Jassy was to forgo his salary for just one year, he could use that money to pay for the health care costs of 19,806 Americans.
Related: Amazon Slapped With Nearly $30,000 in Fines for Allegedly Failing to Report Injuries
2. McDonald's - Christopher Kempczinski
CEO annual salary: $20 million ($2,318 hourly)
Annual salary of median worker: $8,897
Amount of time an employee would have to work to reach CEO pay: 2,251.1 years
McDonald's CEO might not have the highest salary on the list, but it has the lowest annual salary of its median workers at less than $9,000, probably due to its large number of part-time employees. We're definitely not loving it.
Related: How McDonald’s Restaurants Have Changed Inside and Out
3. TJX Companies - Ernie Herrman
CEO annual salary: $31.8 million ($3,681 hourly)
Annual salary of median worker: $14,139
Amount of time an employee would have to work to reach CEO pay: 2,249.2 years
TJX Companies includes discount retail favorites like TJ Maxx, Marshall's, and Home Goods. It would only take the CEO 3.8 hours of work to reach the median annual employee salary. So much for feeling good when we score a real bargain there.
4. Oracle - Safra Catz
CEO annual salary: $138.2 million ($15,994 hourly)
Annual salary of median worker: $75,043
Amount of time an employee would have to work to reach CEO pay: 1,841.5 years
If Oracle's CEO decided to be a hero and pay for the health care costs of American for one year instead of taking a salary, 12,868 people would benefit.
5. Coca-Cola - James Quincey
CEO annual salary: $24.9 million ($2,880 hourly)
Annual salary of median worker: $13,894
Amount of time an employee would have to work to reach CEO pay: 1,791 years
Might want to consider switching from Coke to coffee for your caffeine fix (just not Starbucks, as you'll see shortly). It would take just under a half day of work, 4.8 hours, for the CEO to make an average employee's annual salary.
6. Intel - Patrick Gelsinger
CEO annual salary: $178.6 million ($20,670 hourly)
Annual salary of median worker: $104,400
Amount of time an employee would have to work to reach CEO pay: 1,710.6 years
The median worker salary at Intel is the highest on this list, but the CEO's salary is the second highest, so it's still a massive gap. With that salary, the CEO could fund health care for 16,630 Americans for a year.
7. Starbucks - Kevin Johnson
CEO annual salary: $20.4 million ($2,364 hourly)
Annual salary of median worker: $12,935
Amount of time an employee would have to work to reach CEO pay: 1,579.1 years
It's no wonder that Starbucks is constantly trying to union bust — paying its employees more might mean making less than $2,000 per hour for its CEO. The horror!
8. Apple - Timothy Cook
CEO annual salary: $98.7 million ($11,428 hourly)
Annual salary of median worker: $68,254
Amount of time an employee would have to work to reach CEO pay: 1,446.6 years
Apple likes to position itself as a progressive company, but it's still got a ton of work to do on its CEO-worker pay gap. It would only take its famous CEO, Tim Cook, six hours to make what its median worker does in a year.
9. Walmart - C. McMillon
CEO annual salary: $25.7 million ($2,971 hourly)
Annual salary of median worker: $25,335
Amount of time an employee would have to work to reach CEO pay: 1,013.2 years
Walmart had an early reputation for greed, so you're probably not surprised to see it make the top 10. This is the first on the list where the CEO would have to work more than one full work day (8.5 hours) to make the median worker salary, though.
10. Booking Holdings - Glenn Fogel
CEO annual salary: $54 million ($6,248 hourly)
Annual salary of median worker: $58,005
Amount of time an employee would have to work to reach CEO pay: 930.6 years
Booking Holding operates Booking.com and rounds out the top 10. This is the only company on the list where the average employee would have to work less than 1,000 years to make the same amount their CEO makes in a year. How generous.
