CEOs at America's lowest-paying firms earn 614 times more than workers
A new Institute for Policy Studies report finds that CEOs at the 100 largest, lowest-paying S&P 500 companies earned an average of 614 times more than their workers last year, with the gap continuing to widen.
An annual analysis by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) has found that chief executives at the 100 largest S&P 500 companies with the lowest median worker pay earned, on average, 614 times more than their typical employee in 2025.
Between 2019 and 2025, CEO compensation at these firms rose by 41.4%, while median worker pay grew by only 20.7% over the same period — less than half the rate. Inflation during that span reached 25.9%, meaning worker pay failed to even keep pace with rising prices. As a result, the CEO-to-worker pay ratio at these companies climbed 8.4% since 2019.
The average CEO compensation among these firms reached $17.5m in 2025, compared with median worker pay of just $36,571. At least 36 billionaires' fortunes are tied to these companies, including eight members of the Walton family (Walmart), Amazon's Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott, and Carvana co-founders Ernie Garcia II and III.
Report author Sarah Anderson said the disparity reflects a troubling disconnect, arguing that executives seem removed from the everyday concerns their workers face, including fears tied to immigration enforcement. The report also notes that these 100 companies collectively employ 1,282 registered federal lobbyists, and many have stayed silent on aggressive immigration actions affecting their workforces.
Meanwhile, stock buybacks among these firms rose to $108.6bn in 2025, up from $105bn in 2024. Since 2019, the group has spent a combined $718bn on buybacks. Walmart led all companies in buyback spending, at $8.1bn. Walmart's former CEO, Doug McMillon, who stepped down in January 2026, received $29.2m in compensation in 2025 — 958 times the company's median worker pay of $30,520.
The report proposes several policy responses, including higher corporate taxes for companies that pay CEOs more than 50 times their median worker's salary, along with increased taxes on stock buybacks.
