No Result
View All Result
SUBMIT YOUR ARTICLES
  • Login
Thursday, October 2, 2025
TheAdviserMagazine.com
  • Home
  • Financial Planning
    • Financial Planning
    • Personal Finance
  • Market Research
    • Business
    • Investing
    • Money
    • Economy
    • Markets
    • Stocks
    • Trading
  • 401k Plans
  • College
  • IRS & Taxes
  • Estate Plans
  • Social Security
  • Medicare
  • Legal
  • Home
  • Financial Planning
    • Financial Planning
    • Personal Finance
  • Market Research
    • Business
    • Investing
    • Money
    • Economy
    • Markets
    • Stocks
    • Trading
  • 401k Plans
  • College
  • IRS & Taxes
  • Estate Plans
  • Social Security
  • Medicare
  • Legal
No Result
View All Result
TheAdviserMagazine.com
No Result
View All Result
Home Market Research Business

CEOs at America’s 100 largest low-wage employers are paid 632 times more than the average worker, study finds

by TheAdviserMagazine
1 month ago
in Business
Reading Time: 14 mins read
A A
CEOs at America’s 100 largest low-wage employers are paid 632 times more than the average worker, study finds
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LInkedIn


A new report from the Institute for Policy Studies reveals that executive compensation at the country’s 100 largest low-wage employers—dubbed the “Low-Wage 100”—has reached unprecedented heights, with CEOs taking home astronomical pay packages while typical workers’ wages stagnate or even decline. This annual “Executive Excess” analysis scrutinizes six years of pay and investment trends at major publicly traded companies, including household names like Starbucks, Walmart, Home Depot, and Amazon.

Key findings

CEO compensation vs. worker pay: From 2019 to 2024, average CEO pay at Low-Wage 100 firms climbed 34.7%, compared to just a 16.3% rise for their average median worker pay—less than the cumulative 22.6% U.S. inflation over the same period. The average CEO now earns $17.2 million, while the typical worker receives only $35,570 a year. At 22 of these companies, even nominal median pay dropped over six years.

Widening pay gaps: The CEO-to-worker pay ratio ballooned 12.9%, from 560:1 in 2019 to 632:1 in 2024—more than double the S&P 500 average. Starbucks set a new record with a staggering 6,666:1 ratio last year, reflecting CEO Brian Niccol’s $95.8 million pay package versus $14,674 for the median employee.

Stock buybacks over investment: These 100 companies spent $644 billion on stock buybacks between 2019 and 2024. A majority, 56 firms, invested more in buybacks than in long-term capital improvements, with Lowe’s and Home Depot leading the pack. Lowe’s alone spent $46.6 billion—enough for an annual $28,456 bonus for every employee over six years.

Billionaire fortunes: At least 32 U.S. billionaires owe their wealth to these companies, with a combined net worth of $827 billion.

Policy solutions and public support: The report outlines numerous policy reforms to rein in excessive executive pay and buybacks, including higher corporate taxes for outsized pay gaps—a proposal supported by 80% of likely voters in a 2024 survey. Other measures include boosting the federal stock buyback excise tax, restricting buybacks for companies accepting government contracts or subsidies, and tying pay ratio benchmarks to federal procurement.

Case studies: stark examples

Starbucks: Its median worker pay rose just 4.2% in real terms over six years amid mounting unionization drives. The company spent $18.2 billion on buybacks, far outpacing capital investment. Nearly half its employees eligible for 401(k) plans in 2023 had zero savings.

Ulta Beauty: The cosmetics retailer saw median pay plummet 46% (to $11,078), as its workforce shifted toward part-time employment. CEO pay surged 45%—now 1,130 times the median. Ulta spent three times as much on buybacks as capital improvements.

The wider context

The CEO-worker pay gap is an issue beyond the Low-Wage 100. Among a broad sample of 50 public companies with revenues over $1 billion, a March 2025 study from Compensation Advisory Partners found a widening split between actual company performance and CEO pay. Median revenue growth collapsed on a year-over-year basis from 3.7% to 1.6% and earnings per share growth dropped from 0.3 to basically zero among the 50 firms, but the companies still issued bumper bonuses to their leaders. The significant boosts averaged a whopping 280% increase, and bonuses were still up by 45% at other firms, Fortune reported.

Two leading academics, Claudio Fernández-Aráoz and Greg Nagel, argued in the pages of Fortune in April that the data is daming. Back in 1965, CEOs earned 21 times more than the average worker; by 2023, this ratio had escalated to 290x. For 100 of the S&P 500 corporations, they noted, this ratio climbed to 603x in 2022. Adjusted for inflation, they found, CEO compensation in large firms increased by 878% from 1978 to 2022, whereas real worker compensation only by 4.5%.

It’s part of a wider story of wealth inequality, certainly in the United States, where the Congressional Budget Office found in late 2024 that the top 10% wealthiest Americans own the majority of assets, and the top 1% controls nearly a third.

There’s a bit of a “perfect storm” in the confluence of shareholder primacy, stock buybacks, and falling corporate tax rates by which “companies have gotten bigger, corporate power is on the rise, and the benefits that they’ve accrued in profit they are funneling to a smaller number of people,” Irit Tamir, senior director of Oxfam America’s private sector department, told Fortune in October 2024.

Legislative action

The IPS report catalogs a sweeping set of reforms already on the legislative agenda in Congress and in cities such as Portland and San Francisco. Proposals range from taxes and contract restrictions for excessive CEO-worker pay gaps to strengthening board accountability, corporate transparency, and shareholder powers. Many measures have drawn strong bipartisan as well as public support.

Ultimately, the Institute for Policy Studies warns that without decisive reform, America’s largest corporations will regret this. The report cited Drew Hambly, the investment director at the country’s largest public penson fund CalPERS, warning of the harmful effects of this imbalance at an SEC roundtable on executive compensation. CalPERS research, he said, finds high levels of worker unrest at low-wage corporations where median worker pay has either remained flat or declined over the past five years. “I want corporate boards to think more about the bottom 50% of people who work for them,” he told the roundtable. “Because when I go into a business, I’m probably interacting with a lower-wage worker. And if you’re going to drive value over time, that’s the face of your company.”

Starbucks, Lowe’s and Ulta Beauty did not respond to requests for comment.

For this story, Fortune used generative AI to help with an initial draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing. 

Introducing the 2025 Fortune Global 500, the definitive ranking of the biggest companies in the world. Explore this year’s list.



Source link

Tags: AmericasAverageCEOsEmployersFindsLargestlowwagePaidStudyTimesWorker
ShareTweetShare
Previous Post

When Advising Clients Loses Its Spark: Burned Out, Or Bored-Out?: Kitces & Carl Ep 171

Next Post

WMT Earnings: Key quarterly highlights from Walmart’s Q2 2026 financial results

Related Posts

edit post
PepsiCo’s new challenge: Making its chips and sodas colorful without artificial dyes

PepsiCo’s new challenge: Making its chips and sodas colorful without artificial dyes

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 2, 2025
0

Pepsi has a new challenge: keeping products like Gatorade and Cheetos vivid and colorful without the artificial dyes that U.S....

edit post
What CEOs are saying about the government shutdown

What CEOs are saying about the government shutdown

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 2, 2025
0

Good morning. I was talking to a CEO over the phone yesterday about the potential business impact of a government...

edit post
Sign of the times as Swiss buy euros, not dollars

Sign of the times as Swiss buy euros, not dollars

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 2, 2025
0

The Swiss National Bank may be a special case, but if you were looking for a switch in the behavior...

edit post
Lyft CEO on the time Bill Gates told him he was making ‘the stupidest decision I’ve ever heard anyone made’

Lyft CEO on the time Bill Gates told him he was making ‘the stupidest decision I’ve ever heard anyone made’

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 1, 2025
0

Before David Risher was tasked with scripting a “comeback story” for ride-sharing company Lyft, he made a career move so...

edit post
The rise of the bro co-CEO

The rise of the bro co-CEO

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 1, 2025
0

Yesterday, Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek announced that he’ll be stepping down in the new year. Two of his...

edit post
Stripe is already a payments colossus. Now it wants to make stablecoins the backbone of global commerce

Stripe is already a payments colossus. Now it wants to make stablecoins the backbone of global commerce

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 1, 2025
0

Last October, the payments giant Stripe announced a blockbuster $1.1 billion acquisition of Bridge, a little-known startup focused on the...

Next Post
edit post
WMT Earnings: Key quarterly highlights from Walmart’s Q2 2026 financial results

WMT Earnings: Key quarterly highlights from Walmart’s Q2 2026 financial results

edit post
3 Metals Eyeing Potential Breakouts on Jackson Hole Rate-Cut Hints

3 Metals Eyeing Potential Breakouts on Jackson Hole Rate-Cut Hints

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
edit post
What Happens If a Spouse Dies Without a Will in North Carolina?

What Happens If a Spouse Dies Without a Will in North Carolina?

September 14, 2025
edit post
California May Reimplement Mask Mandates

California May Reimplement Mask Mandates

September 5, 2025
edit post
Does a Will Need to Be Notarized in North Carolina?

Does a Will Need to Be Notarized in North Carolina?

September 8, 2025
edit post
Who Needs a Trust Instead of a Will in North Carolina?

Who Needs a Trust Instead of a Will in North Carolina?

September 1, 2025
edit post
DACA recipients no longer eligible for Marketplace health insurance and subsidies

DACA recipients no longer eligible for Marketplace health insurance and subsidies

September 11, 2025
edit post
‘Quiet luxury’ is coming for the housing market, The Corcoran Group CEO says. It’s not just the Hamptons, Aspen, and Miami anymore

‘Quiet luxury’ is coming for the housing market, The Corcoran Group CEO says. It’s not just the Hamptons, Aspen, and Miami anymore

September 9, 2025
edit post
James Comey Is Not an Innocent Victim of the Lawfare He Helped to Create

James Comey Is Not an Innocent Victim of the Lawfare He Helped to Create

0
edit post
XRP Falls 2.3% As Ripple CTO David Schwartz Exits

XRP Falls 2.3% As Ripple CTO David Schwartz Exits

0
edit post
Why American Workers Are ‘Coffee Badging’ Their Way Through Hybrid Jobs

Why American Workers Are ‘Coffee Badging’ Their Way Through Hybrid Jobs

0
edit post
Wall Street sets more records, but bond yields drop following discouraging data on the job market

Wall Street sets more records, but bond yields drop following discouraging data on the job market

0
edit post
Rate Cuts are Officially Here—But That Brings It’s Own Risks and Rewards

Rate Cuts are Officially Here—But That Brings It’s Own Risks and Rewards

0
edit post
Using Ranching Tax Loss to Offset Other Income – Houston Tax Attorneys

Using Ranching Tax Loss to Offset Other Income – Houston Tax Attorneys

0
edit post
James Comey Is Not an Innocent Victim of the Lawfare He Helped to Create

James Comey Is Not an Innocent Victim of the Lawfare He Helped to Create

October 2, 2025
edit post
PepsiCo’s new challenge: Making its chips and sodas colorful without artificial dyes

PepsiCo’s new challenge: Making its chips and sodas colorful without artificial dyes

October 2, 2025
edit post
What CEOs are saying about the government shutdown

What CEOs are saying about the government shutdown

October 2, 2025
edit post
Why American Workers Are ‘Coffee Badging’ Their Way Through Hybrid Jobs

Why American Workers Are ‘Coffee Badging’ Their Way Through Hybrid Jobs

October 2, 2025
edit post
Report: The Financial Landscape of Sub-Saharan Africa

Report: The Financial Landscape of Sub-Saharan Africa

October 2, 2025
edit post
Sign of the times as Swiss buy euros, not dollars

Sign of the times as Swiss buy euros, not dollars

October 2, 2025
The Adviser Magazine

The first and only national digital and print magazine that connects individuals, families, and businesses to Fee-Only financial advisers, accountants, attorneys and college guidance counselors.

CATEGORIES

  • 401k Plans
  • Business
  • College
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Economy
  • Estate Plans
  • Financial Planning
  • Investing
  • IRS & Taxes
  • Legal
  • Market Analysis
  • Markets
  • Medicare
  • Money
  • Personal Finance
  • Social Security
  • Startups
  • Stock Market
  • Trading

LATEST UPDATES

  • James Comey Is Not an Innocent Victim of the Lawfare He Helped to Create
  • PepsiCo’s new challenge: Making its chips and sodas colorful without artificial dyes
  • What CEOs are saying about the government shutdown
  • Our Great Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use, Legal Notices & Disclosures
  • Contact us
  • About Us

© Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved
See articles for original source and related links to external sites.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Financial Planning
    • Financial Planning
    • Personal Finance
  • Market Research
    • Business
    • Investing
    • Money
    • Economy
    • Markets
    • Stocks
    • Trading
  • 401k Plans
  • College
  • IRS & Taxes
  • Estate Plans
  • Social Security
  • Medicare
  • Legal

© Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved
See articles for original source and related links to external sites.