CEO realized direct compensation and the S&P 500 index (2017 dollars), 1965–2017
| Year | CEO compensation (in millions of 2017 dollars) | S&P 500 index |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 | 0.90 | 588.33 |
| 1966 | 0.97 | 552.72 |
| 1967 | 1.04 | 578.84 |
| 1968 | 1.12 | 596.20 |
| 1969 | 1.13 | 566.99 |
| 1970 | 1.14 | 460.14 |
| 1971 | 1.15 | 521.24 |
| 1972 | 1.17 | 561.61 |
| 1973 | 1.18 | 520.11 |
| 1974 | 1.25 | 364.44 |
| 1975 | 1.33 | 350.38 |
| 1976 | 1.42 | 392.47 |
| 1977 | 1.51 | 354.96 |
| 1978 | 1.61 | 325.34 |
| 1979 | 1.71 | 318.46 |
| 1980 | 1.81 | 330.07 |
| 1981 | 1.91 | 325.30 |
| 1982 | 2.02 | 286.82 |
| 1983 | 2.14 | 368.73 |
| 1984 | 2.26 | 353.97 |
| 1985 | 2.40 | 398.42 |
| 1986 | 2.53 | 495.49 |
| 1987 | 2.68 | 581.57 |
| 1988 | 2.84 | 519.99 |
| 1989 | 3.00 | 605.33 |
| 1990 | 3.63 | 597.57 |
| 1991 | 4.40 | 648.20 |
| 1992 | 5.32 | 698.98 |
| 1993 | 5.61 | 740.60 |
| 1994 | 4.54 | 739.60 |
| 1995 | 5.83 | 849.73 |
| 1996 | 7.60 | 1,024.45 |
| 1997 | 11.55 | 1,306.26 |
| 1998 | 16.87 | 1,601.74 |
| 1999 | 15.22 | 1,917.74 |
| 2000 | 21.05 | 1,994.38 |
| 2001 | 11.59 | 1,622.54 |
| 2002 | 10.09 | 1,329.52 |
| 2003 | 13.00 | 1,262.44 |
| 2004 | 14.69 | 1,439.90 |
| 2005 | 17.80 | 1,487.05 |
| 2006 | 19.18 | 1,563.53 |
| 2007 | 19.50 | 1,713.85 |
| 2008 | 13.70 | 1,363.14 |
| 2009 | 10.98 | 1,062.95 |
| 2010 | 12.95 | 1,257.38 |
| 2011 | 13.26 | 1,355.47 |
| 2012 | 15.40 | 1,444.33 |
| 2013 | 15.90 | 1,696.11 |
| 2014 | 16.84 | 1,959.66 |
| 2015 | 16.56 | 2,087.65 |
| 2016 | 16.03 | 2,094.65 |
| 2017 | 18.86 | 2,397.52 |
Notes: CEO annual compensation is computed using the “options realized” compensation series, which includes salary, bonus, restricted stock grants, options realized, and long-term incentive payouts for CEOs at the top 350 U.S. firms ranked by sales. Projected value for 2017 is based on the change in CEO pay as measured from June 2016 to June 2017 applied to the full-year 2016 value.
Source: Authors’ analysis of data from Compustat’s ExecuComp database and the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) database from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis