CEO compensation tracks the stock market: Realized CEO compensation and the S&P 500 Index, 1965–2019
Year | CEO realized compensation (millions, 2019$) | S&P 500 Index (2019$) |
---|---|---|
1965 | $0.94 | 626.20 |
1966 | $1.02 | 588.45 |
1967 | $1.09 | 617.16 |
1968 | $1.17 | 635.27 |
1969 | $1.18 | 604.44 |
1970 | $1.19 | 490.04 |
1971 | $1.20 | 554.98 |
1972 | $1.22 | 598.07 |
1973 | $1.23 | 554.13 |
1974 | $1.32 | 388.13 |
1975 | $1.41 | 373.38 |
1976 | $1.50 | 418.00 |
1977 | $1.59 | 378.35 |
1978 | $1.68 | 346.60 |
1979 | $1.81 | 339.28 |
1980 | $1.94 | 351.65 |
1981 | $2.08 | 346.56 |
1982 | $2.21 | 305.56 |
1983 | $2.34 | 392.83 |
1984 | $2.47 | 377.11 |
1985 | $2.60 | 424.47 |
1986 | $2.73 | 527.88 |
1987 | $2.87 | 619.58 |
1988 | $3.00 | 553.98 |
1989 | $3.13 | 644.90 |
1990 | $3.94 | 636.63 |
1991 | $4.74 | 690.57 |
1992 | $5.55 | 744.67 |
1993 | $5.82 | 789.01 |
1994 | $4.75 | 787.95 |
1995 | $6.07 | 905.27 |
1996 | $7.93 | 1,091.41 |
1997 | $12.05 | 1,391.65 |
1998 | $17.70 | 1,706.43 |
1999 | $15.84 | 2,043.09 |
2000 | $21.91 | 2,124.75 |
2001 | $12.17 | 1,728.60 |
2002 | $10.55 | 1,416.42 |
2003 | $13.56 | 1,344.96 |
2004 | $15.32 | 1,534.02 |
2005 | $18.40 | 1,584.25 |
2006 | $18.93 | 1,665.73 |
2007 | $19.43 | 1,825.88 |
2008 | $12.68 | 1,452.24 |
2009 | $10.38 | 1,132.43 |
2010 | $12.86 | 1,339.57 |
2011 | $14.10 | 1,444.07 |
2012 | $21.38 | 1,538.74 |
2013 | $18.06 | 1,806.98 |
2014 | $19.33 | 2,087.75 |
2015 | $19.29 | 2,224.11 |
2016 | $17.00 | 2,231.57 |
2017 | $18.95 | 2,554.23 |
2018 | $18.66 | 2,795.97 |
2019 | $21.28 | 2,913.36 |
Notes: Realized average annual CEO compensation is computed using salary, bonus, vested stock awards, options realized, and long-term incentive payouts for CEOs at the top 350 U.S. firms ranked by sales.
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.