CEO pay increased 20 times faster than worker pay globally in 2025, according to a new analysis by Oxfam and the International Trade Union Confederation. The average CEO received $8.4 million in total compensation, up from $7.6 million in 2024, a rise of nearly 6%.
In contrast, global worker pay fell by 12% when adjusted for inflation between 2019 and 2025. CEO compensation rose by 54% over the same period. The analysis also found that billionaires were paid $2,500 per second in dividends in 2025, based on the investment portfolios of over 1,000 billionaires.
Inequality in the US was worse than the global average, with CEO pay increasing 20.4 times faster than worker pay. For 384 CEOs in the S&P 500, pay rose by 25% from 2024 to 2025, while average hourly earnings for private sector workers increased just 1.3%.
The top 10 highest-paid CEOs collectively received over $1 billion in 2025. Four corporations—Blackstone, Broadcom, Goldman Sachs and Microsoft—paid their CEOs more than $100 million each. The analysis covered 1,500 corporations across 33 countries and found a 16% gender pay gap, with women effectively working for free after 4 November each year.
Oxfam and the ITUC called for caps on CEO pay, fair taxation of the super-rich, and minimum wages that keep pace with inflation. “This analysis exposes the billionaire coup against democracy and its costs for working people,” said Luc Triangle, general secretary of the ITUC.
