US S&P 500 Company CEOs Earn 196 Times More Than Employees

Median Salary 22.4 Billion Won...13% Increase
'Salary King' Hawk-led Broadcom CEO Earns 222.6 Billion Won

Last year, the average compensation package for CEOs of major U.S. companies rose by 13%. It was found that it would take about 200 years for average workers to earn as much as CEOs.

On the 3rd (local time), AP News and Equilar reported that the median CEO compensation package among S&P 500 companies was $16.3 million (approximately 22.4 billion KRW), an increase of 12.6%. Notably, 24 CEOs surveyed received pay raises of more than 50%.

Hock Tan, CEO of Broadcom
[Photo by AP]

This survey covered 341 CEOs who had worked at S&P 500 companies for two or more fiscal years.

The highest-paid CEO was Hock Tan of Broadcom, who received a compensation package worth about $162 million (approximately 222.6 billion KRW). In the 2023 fiscal year, Broadcom granted Tan stock awards worth $160.5 million (approximately 220.6 billion KRW). Tan can acquire up to 1 million shares starting from the 2025 fiscal year if Broadcom’s stock meets targets and he remains CEO for five years.

At the time of the stock award, Broadcom’s share price was around $470, but the stock price surged to an all-time high of $1,436.17 on the 28th of last month. Tan can receive the full stock award if the average closing price is above $1,125 for 20 consecutive days between October 2025 and October 2027.

Other CEOs ranked high in compensation according to the AP survey include William Lansing of Fair Isaac Corporation ($66.3 million), Tim Cook of Apple ($63.2 million), Hamid Moghadam of Prologis ($50.9 million), and Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix ($49.8 million). Cook’s compensation decreased by 36% compared to the previous year.

While major company CEOs received astronomical salaries, the net wages and benefits of average workers increased by only 4.1% in 2023. Compared to the median CEO pay, CEOs earn about 196 times more than average workers, a significant increase from 185 times in the previous year’s survey.

Sarah Anderson, Global Economy Project Director, stated that the income gap between CEOs and workers influences Americans’ dissatisfaction with the economy.

Brandon Rees, AFL-CIO Deputy Director for Corporate and Capital Markets, said, "Current pay reflects a winner-takes-all culture," adding, "Companies treat CEOs as superstars rather than team players."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.