S&P 500 CEO pay hits highest since AFL-CIO began tracking
Even excluding the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, CEO pay at S&P 500 companies just hit its highest level since AFL-CIO tracking began in the 1990s in 2025, averaging $22.8 million, a 21% jump from last year.
The spike is mostly thanks to massive performance-based deals like Elon Musk's Tesla package, which alone is valued at $158 billion.
If you include Musk, the average CEO pay shoots up to a wild $340.1 million.
CEO-to-worker pay gap widens to 312-to-1
The CEO-to-worker pay gap grew even wider in 2025, hitting 312-to-1 (and an eye-popping 5,387-to-1 if you count Musk).
Labor leaders are blaming things like being held back by the rise of artificial intelligence and anti-union moves for the growing divide.
While most shareholders still back these big CEO payouts (90.6% approval), some huge packages are starting to get pushback, with Goldman Sachs's CEO only getting support from 71% of shares cast this time around.