Pay for CEOs at big public companies rose 17% in 2021 as profits soared
Last year’s leap for median pay of S&P 500 CEOs was the biggest since a 23.9% surge for 2010 compensation packages, according to the data analyzed by Equilar.
Last year’s leap for median pay of S&P 500 CEOs was the biggest since a 23.9% surge for 2010 compensation packages, according to the data analyzed by Equilar.
The median pay package for a CEO at an S&P 500 company hit $12.7 million in 2020. That’s 5% more than the median pay for that same group of CEOs in 2019.
Labor experts and bankruptcy attorneys say the payouts are particularly egregious—and unjustifiable—during an economic crisis, and were timed to bypass a 2005 law passed specifically to prevent executives from prospering while their companies flailed.
Women remained significantly underrepresented as CEOs on the list, heading just 5% percent of S&P 500 companies.
Under Sen. Bernie Sanders’ plan, the government would increase a firm’s corporate tax rate if its highest-paid employee earns more than 50 times what its average worker does—an attempt to encourage companies to distribute their profits more equitably.
The Business Roundtable, a group that represents the most powerful CEOs in America, has released new principles on the role of a corporation that imply a foundational shift.
Pay for typical workers at these companies isn’t rising nearly as quickly. The median increase was 3% last year, less than half the growth for the top bosses.
Topping the list of highest-paid female CEOs is Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo, whose compensation was $25.9 million.
Chief executives at the biggest public companies got an 8.5 percent raise last year, bringing the median pay package for CEOs to $11.7 million.
Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks’ first year in charge was marked by a wave of activity, including a huge corporate restructuring. The company’s stock price climbed about 6.2 percent during the year.
As a top pharma industry veteran from 2007 to 2017, former Eli Lilly and Co. executive Alex Azar built a substantial financial portfolio now worth as much as $20.6 million.
Presidents of U.S. public colleges and universities saw their earnings climb by 5.3 percent last year, with several of them topping $1 million, according to an annual survey.
Just 6 percent of the top-paid CEOs in the U.S. last year were women, a slight increase from about 5 percent in 2015 and 2014.
The typical CEO at the biggest U.S. public companies got an 8.5 percent raise last year, raking in $11.5 million in salary, stock and other compensation, according to a new study.
Dave Ricks joined Lilly in 1996 and most recently served as president of Lilly Bio-Medicines. He took over as president and CEO on Jan. 1.
Hotel and billboard magnate Dean White, who had been a fixture in the annual rankings by Forbes for years, fell from the list after his death in September at 93.
Compensation for the highest-ranking officials of Indianapolis’ largest not-for-profits falls short of pay at many similar-size organizations throughout the country.
The Indianapolis-based health insurer raised pay for its executives, including CEO Joe Swedish, at a much slower pace than the 38-percent return it generated for shareholders last year.
The top five executives at Eli Lilly and Co. took home 5 percent to 10 percent less in cash, stock and perks last year than the year before, according to a Monday securities filing.
Fishers’ first mayor will be paid more than the chief executives of nearby suburban cities if the Town Council approves a 2015 salary ordinance set to be introduced Monday.