CEOs got an 11% pay raise in 2025. Workers got 0.5%
CEO pay rose by 11% in 2025, significantly outpacing the 0.5% wage increase for the average worker globally. The disparity is highlighted by a report showing CEO compensation growing 20 times faster than worker wages, with real wages for workers falling 12% since 2019. Oxfam and the International Trade Union Confederation are calling for policy interventions to address the widening pay gap.
- ▪CEO pay increased by 11% in 2025, while average worker wages rose by only 0.5%.
- ▪The average CEO earned $8.4 million in 2025, up from $5.5 million in 2019.
- ▪Elon Musk’s potential 10-year pay package could reach $1 trillion if Tesla meets aggressive growth targets.
- ▪Global real wages fell by 12% between 2019 and 2025, despite rising inflation and strong stock market performance.
- ▪The top 1% of U.S. households held 29% of national wealth as of late 2025, compared to 5.3% held by the bottom 50%.
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CEO pay is on the rise in 2025, and the pace of growth is leaving the average worker far behind, according to a new report.Recommended Video The leaders of some of the world’s biggest companies got an 11% pay bump last year, while the average worker globally got a measly 0.5% increase. That means CEO pay grew roughly 20 times faster than that of the average worker, according to a Friday study published by the International Trade Union Confederation and Oxfam. The report, which looked at 1,500 companies across 33 countries, found that the average CEO was paid about $8.4 million last year, up from an average of $5.5 million in 2019. The poster child of high executive pay, though, may be Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
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