The country's top CEOs earn 300 times what you do
The CEOs of the largest U.S. companies made 303 times what the average worker did in 2014, according to a report released Sunday by the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank based in Washington, D.C. The ratio peaked in 2000 at 376 to 1, but it has inched back up as the economy recovers from the recession. The average pay for a CEO at one of the top 350 firms has increased 54.3 percent since 2009.
"The escalation in CEO pay was not accompanied by a corresponding increase in output," EPI President Lawrence Mishel told Fortune. "They didn't make the pie bigger, but they are taking a bigger piece of it. What that means is that everyone else has a smaller piece."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
-
The Perfect Couple: glossy Netflix murder-mystery starring Nicole Kidman
The Week Recommends However hard you try to resist it, 'you will want to know the who, what, where and why-dunit'
By The Week UK Published
-
Why more and more people believe in aliens
In The Spotlight Growing numbers say they have seen a UFO – and even US politicians are getting caught up in the trend
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
'A show of unity in a contentious campaign'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homes
Speed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'
Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bid
Speed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detente
Speed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe fees
Speed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Reddit IPO values social media site at $6.4 billion
Speed Read The company makes its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?
speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Feds cap credit card late fees at $8
speed read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to save households an estimated $10 billion a year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published