CEO realized direct compensation and the S&P 500 index (2018$), 1965–2018
| Year | CEO compensation (millions, 2018$) | S&P 500 index |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 | $0.92 | 615.63 |
| 1966 | $0.99 | 578.37 |
| 1967 | $1.07 | 605.71 |
| 1968 | $1.15 | 623.87 |
| 1969 | $1.16 | 593.31 |
| 1970 | $1.17 | 481.49 |
| 1971 | $1.18 | 545.42 |
| 1972 | $1.19 | 587.67 |
| 1973 | $1.21 | 544.24 |
| 1974 | $1.28 | 381.35 |
| 1975 | $1.37 | 366.64 |
| 1976 | $1.46 | 410.69 |
| 1977 | $1.55 | 371.43 |
| 1978 | $1.65 | 340.44 |
| 1979 | $1.75 | 333.24 |
| 1980 | $1.85 | 345.39 |
| 1981 | $1.96 | 340.4 |
| 1982 | $2.07 | 300.13 |
| 1983 | $2.19 | 385.84 |
| 1984 | $2.32 | 370.4 |
| 1985 | $2.45 | 416.91 |
| 1986 | $2.6 | 518.49 |
| 1987 | $2.75 | 608.56 |
| 1988 | $2.91 | 544.12 |
| 1989 | $3.08 | 633.42 |
| 1990 | $3.72 | 625.3 |
| 1991 | $4.51 | 678.28 |
| 1992 | $5.45 | 731.42 |
| 1993 | $5.74 | 774.97 |
| 1994 | $4.66 | 773.92 |
| 1995 | $5.97 | 889.16 |
| 1996 | $7.79 | 1,071.99 |
| 1997 | $11.83 | 1,366.88 |
| 1998 | $17.29 | 1,676.07 |
| 1999 | $15.59 | 2,006.73 |
| 2000 | $21.55 | 2,086.94 |
| 2001 | $11.96 | 1,697.84 |
| 2002 | $10.33 | 1,391.22 |
| 2003 | $13.32 | 1,321.03 |
| 2004 | $15.05 | 1,506.72 |
| 2005 | $18.23 | 1,556.06 |
| 2006 | $19.65 | 1,636.08 |
| 2007 | $20.03 | 1,793.38 |
| 2008 | $14.09 | 1,426.40 |
| 2009 | $11.26 | 1,112.27 |
| 2010 | $13.25 | 1,315.73 |
| 2011 | $13.57 | 1,418.37 |
| 2012 | $15.8 | 1,511.36 |
| 2013 | $16.38 | 1,774.82 |
| 2014 | $17.27 | 2,050.60 |
| 2015 | $16.93 | 2,184.53 |
| 2016 | $16.04 | 2,191.86 |
| 2017 | $17.27 | 2,508.78 |
| 2018 | $17.18 | 2,746.21 |
Notes: CEO average annual compensation is computed using the “options realized” compensation series, which includes salary, bonus, restricted stock awards, options realized, and long-term incentive payouts for CEOs at the top 350 U.S. firms ranked by sales. Projected value for 2018 is based on the percent change in CEO pay in the samples available in June 2017 and in June 2018 (labeled first-half [FH] data) applied to the full-year 2017 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