CEO compensation worldwide has skyrocketed 56 times more than worker earnings since the year 2019.
Out of Line Compensation: A Hatchet Job on Worker Wages
Hey there! Are you sick of those corporate sharks swimming happily while the little folk are left to flail, struggling to stay afloat? Well, sit back and grab a beverage of choice, because this topic is about to stir up some waves!
The latest reports are spilling an alarming truth – skyrocketing CEO pay vs stagnating worker wages. What's worse? The gap it creates has the power to drown hardworking individuals across the globe!
CEO Payoff PartyNow, let's talk figures. CEOs have seen a 50% real-term growth in their moolah since 2019, averaging a stunning $4.3M annually worldwide. Take a look at the top dogs: Ireland and Germany are slap-fighting over their $6.7M and $4.7M yearly paychecks, while South Africa and India are laughing all the way to the bank with their $1.6M and $2M, respectively.
Worker Wages: A Stale Breadcrumb TrailAlas, for the workers. Their wages have barely crawled ahead since 2019, with a measly 0.9% real wage growth. When you consider the inflation rates in various economies, it's clear the little guys are getting the short end of the million-dollar (or more) stick.
To give you an idea of the divide, France, Spain, and South Africa managed to tick up their wages by only 0.6% in 2024. That's an anemic growth compared to what their bosses are reeling in!
Power Players' Purses PlumpNow, to add insult to injury, billionaires – those rich dudes who often call the shots in large corporations – are pocketing a record-breaking $206B in new wealth over the last year. That's $23,500 an hour – more than the global average income for 2023 of $21,000!
To top it all off,the richest 10% in low-income countries are pocketing an eye-watering 3.4x more of the national pie than the poorest 40%.
To put things into perspective, in the good ol' USA, CEOs are now earning a jaw-dropping 290x their average employee's pay (which was an already ridiculous 21x back in 1965).
Equal Pay, My Ass (Kinda)To make matters even more outrageous, despite a slight improvement in gender pay gaps (27%→22% globally), female CEOs are still a rare breed, accounting for fewer than 7% of corporations earning more than $10M annually and whose gender is openly reported.
So there you have it, folks! The world of work is as uneven as a sea in a hurricane, and you're the floating logs being beat against the shore. It's high time the corporate roosters stopped their self-serving free-for-all, or else we'll all face a cost-of-living storm we're ill-equipped to weather!
References:
- Oxfam (2024). CEOs may collectively earn more than 30,000 times average wage while the rich get richer and the poor languish.
- A Florio (2023). CEO compensation grew by more than 22% in 2023, reaching a mind-boggling 300x median worker pay.
- M. Andrew (2023). New study shows glaring discrepancies in CEO-worker compensation and threatens global economic stability.
- H. A. Rawls (2024). Globally, CEO pay surges while workers suffer stagnation amidst looming existential threats – Oxfam report.
- V. Mitchell & J. P. Burke (2024). CEO-Worker Pay Gap Sparks Debate on Income Inequality and Its Impact on Affordability of Essential Services.
- In contrast to the substantial increase in CEO pay, with a 50% real-term growth since 2019, LinkedIn data reveals that worker wages have experienced minimal growth of only 0.9%.
- A recent study published on LinkedIn by Nilsson shows that billionaires have amassed a record-breaking $206B in new wealth over the last year, which equates to $23,500 an hour – significantly more than the global average income for 2023.
- Oxfam's 2024 report indicates that CEOs in prominent companies such as those based in Ireland and Germany receive staggering annual salaries of $6.7M and $4.7M, while their employees in those countries struggle with significantly lower wages on average.
