Extreme inequality—CEOs versus the workers they manage: CEO-to-worker compensation ratio, 1965–2013
| Year | CEO-to-worker compensation ratio |
|---|---|
| 1965/01/01 | 20.0 |
| 1966/01/01 | 20.0 |
| 1967/01/01 | 20.0 |
| 1968/01/01 | 23.7 |
| 1969/01/01 | 23.7 |
| 1970/01/01 | 23.7 |
| 1971/01/01 | 23.7 |
| 1972/01/01 | 23.7 |
| 1973/01/01 | 22.3 |
| 1974/01/01 | 22.3 |
| 1975/01/01 | 22.3 |
| 1976/01/01 | 22.4 |
| 1977/01/01 | 22.4 |
| 1978/01/01 | 29.9 |
| 1979/01/01 | 29.9 |
| 1980/01/01 | 29.9 |
| 1981/01/01 | 29.9 |
| 1982/01/01 | 29.9 |
| 1983/01/01 | 29.9 |
| 1984/01/01 | 29.9 |
| 1985/01/01 | 29.9 |
| 1986/01/01 | 29.9 |
| 1987/01/01 | 29.9 |
| 1988/01/01 | 29.9 |
| 1989/01/01 | 58.7 |
| 1990/01/01 | 58.8 |
| 1991/01/01 | 58.8 |
| 1992/01/01 | 104.4 |
| 1993/01/01 | 111.8 |
| 1994/01/01 | 87.3 |
| 1995/01/01 | 122.6 |
| 1996/01/01 | 153.8 |
| 1997/01/01 | 233.0 |
| 1998/01/01 | 321.8 |
| 1999/01/01 | 286.7 |
| 2000/01/01 | 383.4 |
| 2001/01/01 | 214.2 |
| 2002/01/01 | 188.5 |
| 2003/01/01 | 227.5 |
| 2004/01/01 | 256.6 |
| 2005/01/01 | 308.0 |
| 2006/01/01 | 341.4 |
| 2007/01/01 | 351.3 |
| 2008/01/01 | 234.3 |
| 2009/01/01 | 193.2 |
| 2010/01/01 | 227.9 |
| 2011/01/01 | 231.8 |
| 2012/01/01 | 278.2 |
| 2013/01/01 | 295.9 |
Note: CEO annual compensation is computed using the "options realized" compensation series for CEOs at the top 350 U.S. firms ranked by sales. Typical worker compensation is average compensation of production/nonsupervisory workers in the key industries of the firms included in the sample.
Note: CEO annual compensation is computed using the "options realized" compensation series for CEOs at the top 350 U.S. firms ranked by sales. Typical worker compensation is average compensation of production/nonsupervisory workers in the key industries of the firms included in the sample.
The options-realized compensation series includes salary, bonus, restricted stock grants, options exercised, and long-term incentive payouts. Facebook's CEO is excluded from the samples in 2012 and 2013 (the only years for which the firm has been public) because his compensation is such an outlier (compensation of $2.3 billion in 2012 and $3.3 billion in 2013) that including it would have dramatically altered the results.
Source: EPI analysis of data from Compustat's ExecuComp database, Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment Statistics, and Bureau of Economic Analysis NIPA tables
Reproduced from Figure C in CEO Pay Continues to Rise as Typical Workers Are Paid Less
Source: EPI analysis of data from Compustat's ExecuComp database; Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment Statistics, Employment, Hours and Earnings-National database; and Bureau of Economic Analysis National Income and Product Accounts tables 6.2C, 6.2D, 6.3C, and 6.3D
Reproduced from Figure C in CEO Pay Continues to Rise as Typical Workers Are Paid Less, by Lawrence Mishel and Alyssa Davis, Economic Policy Institute, 2014.