CEO compensation and the S&P 500 Index (in 2013 dollars), 1965–2013
| Year | CEO compensation (in millions of 2013 dollars) | S&P 500 Index (adjusted to 2013) |
|---|---|---|
| 1965/01/01 | $0.8 | 570.0589 |
| 1966/01/01 | $0.8 | 535.6632 |
| 1967/01/01 | $0.8 | 560.7757 |
| 1968/01/01 | $1.0 | 577.2277 |
| 1969/01/01 | $1.0 | 549.2137 |
| 1970/01/01 | $1.0 | 445.2654 |
| 1971/01/01 | $1.0 | 504.2769 |
| 1972/01/01 | $1.0 | 543.4261 |
| 1973/01/01 | $1.1 | 503.4962 |
| 1974/01/01 | $1.1 | 352.6655 |
| 1975/01/01 | $1.1 | 339.2656 |
| 1976/01/01 | $1.1 | 379.8092 |
| 1977/01/01 | $1.1 | 343.7807 |
| 1978/01/01 | $1.5 | 314.9352 |
| 1979/01/01 | $1.5 | 308.0096 |
| 1980/01/01 | $1.5 | 319.5176 |
| 1981/01/01 | $1.5 | 314.673 |
| 1982/01/01 | $1.5 | 277.4579 |
| 1983/01/01 | $1.5 | 356.7043 |
| 1984/01/01 | $1.5 | 342.6552 |
| 1985/01/01 | $1.5 | 385.6832 |
| 1986/01/01 | $1.5 | 479.3659 |
| 1987/01/01 | $1.5 | 562.9742 |
| 1988/01/01 | $1.5 | 503.0838 |
| 1989/01/01 | $2.7 | 585.9778 |
| 1990/01/01 | $2.7 | 578.1663 |
| 1991/01/01 | $2.7 | 627.4724 |
| 1992/01/01 | $4.8 | 676.3104 |
| 1993/01/01 | $5.4 | 716.9178 |
| 1994/01/01 | $4.3 | 715.6278 |
| 1995/01/01 | $5.8 | 822.1935 |
| 1996/01/01 | $7.3 | 991.2621 |
| 1997/01/01 | $11.2 | 1263.961 |
| 1998/01/01 | $16.6 | 1549.226 |
| 1999/01/01 | $14.7 | 1855.658 |
| 2000/01/01 | $20.2 | 1930.613 |
| 2001/01/01 | $11.2 | 1571.265 |
| 2002/01/01 | $9.9 | 1287.006 |
| 2003/01/01 | $12.7 | 1222.529 |
| 2004/01/01 | $14.0 | 1394.36 |
| 2005/01/01 | $16.3 | 1440.507 |
| 2006/01/01 | $18.2 | 1514.044 |
| 2007/01/01 | $18.5 | 1659.595 |
| 2008/01/01 | $13.2 | 1319.974 |
| 2009/01/01 | $10.4 | 1029.612 |
| 2010/01/01 | $12.5 | 1217.938 |
| 2011/01/01 | $12.7 | 1312.529 |
| 2012/01/01 | $14.8 | 1399.563 |
| 2013/01/01 | $15.2 | 1643.8 |
Note: CEO annual compensation is computed using the "options realized" compensation series, which includes salary, bonus, restricted stock grants, options exercised, 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 Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis