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S&P 500 CEO Pay Jumps 21% to $22.8M in 2025

8/15/2026

48 11 Full Breakdown

Summary

CEOs Compensation Surge

Average S&P 500 CEO compensation rose 21% to $22.8 million in 2025.
The rise follows mega-pay plans modeled on Elon Musk’s Tesla package, approved in November 2025 and valued at $158 billion.
Including Musk’s deal, average CEO pay reached $340.1 million.
Fred Redmond says AI and the NLRB kept wages flat at $69,770 in May 2025, driving a 5,387 to 1 CEO-to-worker ratio that received about 90% shareholder support for “say-on-pay.”

Summary

Americans Face Insecurity

AFL-CIO data show 8 % of households faced food insecurity and 16 % couldn’t pay all bills in 2025.
The same report found 26 % skipped medical care, 33 % lacked retirement savings, and 37 % couldn’t cover a $400 emergency.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said the economy lost 23 000 jobs in July 2026 while CEO pay kept rising.

History

Historical Context

In 1999 General Motors shareholders rejected a $100 million bonus, with 62 % opposing, while the United Auto Workers froze wages; the episode foreshadowed a decades-long rise in pay—CEO compensation grew about 8.5 % annually since the 1990s, reaching $22.8 million in 2025, a 21 % jump for S&P 500 CEOs and widening the gap highlighted by the AFL-CIO.

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CEOs Compensation Surge

Average S&P 500 CEO compensation rose 21% to $22.8 million in 2025.
The rise follows mega-pay plans modeled on Elon Musk’s Tesla package, approved in November 2025 and valued at $158 billion.
Including Musk’s deal, average CEO pay reached $340.1 million.
Fred Redmond says AI and the NLRB kept wages flat at $69,770 in May 2025, driving a 5,387 to 1 CEO-to-worker ratio that received about 90% shareholder support for “say-on-pay.”

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