Average CEO compensation packages surged by nearly 6 percent in 2025, reaching $17.7 million, as company boards rewarded top executives for robust profits and rising stock prices while incentivizing them to remain at the helm and further boost shareholder value.
In stark contrast, the median employee at S&P 500 companies earned $89,744, a 4.7 percent increase year-over-year. While this gain outpaced inflation in 2025, many workers continued to grapple with cumulative higher prices, forcing them to economize and take on credit card debt for daily necessities.
These findings emerge from The Associated Press' CEO compensation survey, using data from Equilar. The survey covered 337 executives at S&P 500 companies who had completed at least two full consecutive fiscal years and filed proxy statements between January 1 and April 30.
Notable CEO Pay Packages
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, received compensation valued at $132.3 billion, entirely in stock awards. To realize these shares, Musk must achieve ambitious targets over the next decade for Tesla's market value, electric vehicle production, and development of robotaxis and humanoid robots. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
Shankh Mitra of Welltower received the second-largest package at $821.1 million, mostly in stock awards. Since becoming CEO in October 2020, Welltower's stock price has tripled. Mitra can receive full compensation beyond a $110,000 annual salary only after 10 years.
Broadcom CEO Hock Tan's package, valued at $205.3 million, covers 2028-2030 and is uniquely tied to increasing revenue from artificial intelligence. Kelly Malafis of Compensation Advisory Partners noted, "Use of AI considerations in incentive plans has not yet taken hold as a majority practice," but expects this to change.
David Zaslav of Warner Bros. received $165 million after negotiating a sale to Paramount Skydance at $31 per share, up from $12.54. Since 2007, Zaslav's total compensation has reached $1.1 billion.
Bank CEOs also saw significant payouts. Goldman Sachs' David Solomon received nearly $80 million, tied to a 57 percent stock gain and earnings increase. Jane Fraser of Citigroup got $95.8 million, the highest ever for a woman CEO in the survey, including one-time awards for becoming chairman and overseeing a reorganization. Wells Fargo's Charles Scharf received $94.5 million for leading the bank from a fake accounts scandal, with the Federal Reserve lifting its penalty last year.
Warren Buffett, in his final year as Berkshire Hathaway CEO, earned $25.1 million, mostly for security and aircraft use. Jensen Huang of Nvidia received $36.3 million but was excluded from the survey due to a late proxy filing.
Widening Pay Gap
At half of surveyed companies, a median worker would need 200 years to earn their CEO's annual pay, up from 192 years previously. Coca-Cola's CEO earned 1,739 times the median worker's $17,947, while TJX Cos.' CEO made 1,774 times the median.
Sarah Anderson of the Institute for Policy Studies said, "At a time when working families struggle with rising costs, it's obscene to see CEO pay skyrocketing." Ballot initiatives in San Francisco and Los Angeles aim to tax companies with large pay gaps.
Overall, U.S. private-sector wages and benefits rose 3.4 percent in 2025. The average worker earns $96,000 including benefits. CEO compensation now relies heavily on stock awards tied to performance, with shareholders approving most plans at around 90 percent support in non-binding votes.
