CEO realized direct compensation and the S&P 500 index (2016 dollars), 1965–2016
| Year | CEO realized direct compensation (in millions of 2016 dollars) | S&P 500 index (adjusted to 2016 dollars) |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 | 0.84 | 88.15 |
| 1966 | 0.91 | 85.18 |
| 1967 | 0.98 | 91.96 |
| 1968 | 1.05 | 98.37 |
| 1969 | 1.06 | 97.77 |
| 1970 | 1.07 | 83.17 |
| 1971 | 1.08 | 98.32 |
| 1972 | 1.09 | 109.13 |
| 1973 | 1.10 | 107.44 |
| 1974 | 1.17 | 82.78 |
| 1975 | 1.25 | 86.18 |
| 1976 | 1.33 | 102.03 |
| 1977 | 1.42 | 98.18 |
| 1978 | 1.51 | 96.11 |
| 1979 | 1.60 | 103.00 |
| 1980 | 1.69 | 118.71 |
| 1981 | 1.79 | 128.04 |
| 1982 | 1.89 | 119.71 |
| 1983 | 2.00 | 160.47 |
| 1984 | 2.12 | 160.46 |
| 1985 | 2.24 | 186.81 |
| 1986 | 2.37 | 236.39 |
| 1987 | 2.51 | 287.00 |
| 1988 | 2.65 | 265.88 |
| 1989 | 2.81 | 323.05 |
| 1990 | 3.40 | 334.63 |
| 1991 | 4.11 | 376.19 |
| 1992 | 4.98 | 415.75 |
| 1993 | 5.58 | 451.61 |
| 1994 | 4.42 | 460.42 |
| 1995 | 5.95 | 541.72 |
| 1996 | 7.56 | 670.50 |
| 1997 | 11.51 | 873.43 |
| 1998 | 17.15 | 1,085.50 |
| 1999 | 15.15 | 1,327.33 |
| 2000 | 20.66 | 1,427.22 |
| 2001 | 11.59 | 1,194.18 |
| 2002 | 10.24 | 993.94 |
| 2003 | 13.06 | 965.23 |
| 2004 | 14.38 | 1,130.65 |
| 2005 | 16.88 | 1,207.23 |
| 2006 | 18.76 | 1,310.46 |
| 2007 | 19.11 | 1,477.19 |
| 2008 | 13.40 | 1,220.04 |
| 2009 | 10.75 | 948.05 |
| 2010 | 12.83 | 1,139.97 |
| 2011 | 12.96 | 1,267.64 |
| 2012 | 15.26 | 1,379.35 |
| 2013 | 15.60 | 1,643.80 |
| 2014 | 16.57 | 1,931.38 |
| 2015 | 16.34 | 2,061.07 |
| 2016 | 15.64 | 2,094.65 |
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 2016 is based on the change in CEO pay as measured from June 2015 to June 2016 applied to the full-year 2015 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