A new global analysis from Oxfam and the International Trade Union Confederation reveals that CEO pay increased 20 times faster than worker pay in 2025. While global worker wages fell 12% in real terms between 2019 and 2025, CEO compensation rose by 54% over the same period.
The average CEO earned $8.4 million in total compensation in 2025, up from $7.6 million in 2024. In the US, inequality was even starker: CEO pay grew 20.4 times faster than worker pay, with S&P 500 CEOs seeing a 25% pay rise compared to just 1.3% for private sector workers.
The report also found that billionaires received $2,500 per second in dividends in 2025, meaning the average billionaire earned more in two hours than a worker does in a year. Global billionaire wealth hit a record high in 2026, increasing by $4 trillion in 12 months.
Luc Triangle, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, said: “This analysis exposes the billionaire coup against democracy and its costs for working people.” Oxfam’s executive director Amitabh Behar called for governments to cap CEO pay, tax the super-rich, and ensure minimum wages keep pace with inflation.
The study covered 1,500 top corporations across 33 countries and found a 16% gender pay gap, with women effectively working for free after 4 November each year. The ten highest-paid CEOs collectively earned over $1 billion in 2025.
