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Yes.

In 2023, the average S&P 500 CEO earned $17.1 million in total compensation compared with $63,800 earned by the average worker in an S&P 500 company. For the CEO that works out to $46,849 a day.

Because average compensation rates include extreme outliers, it’s notable that median pay differences between CEOs and workers in 2023 also yielded similar results. 

The median S&P 500 CEO earned $16.3 million in 2023 while the median worker for those companies earned around $81,400. Outliers notwithstanding, CEOs still earned their workers’ annual pay in a little less than two days.

This phenomenon continued in 2024 as the median S&P 500 CEO pay jumped nearly 10% and worker compensation increased by less than 1.05%.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• AFL-CIO: Company Pay Ratios
• Equilar | Associated Press: CEO Pay Study
• PBS News: CEO pay jumped nearly 10% in 2024 as profits and stock prices soared

Did the average S&P 500 CEOs earn in less than two days what their typical worker earned in all of 2023? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.