Pulse on Pay
Key Takeaways The median CEO pay in the S&P 500 has increased by 4% annually from 2012 through 2023, even with a pronounced increase 11% in 2023. The rate of CEO pay movement is aligned with general wage growth across the US economy (4% since 2012 per the Social Security – Average Wage Index), which […]
Margaret Hylas is a Senior Consultant and Leah Sine is a Senior Associate Consultant at Semler Brossy Consulting Group LLC. This post is based on their Semler Brossy memorandum.
Key Takeaways
The median CEO pay in the S&P 500 has increased by 4% annually from 2012 through 2023, even with a pronounced increase 11% in 2023. The rate of CEO pay movement is aligned with general wage growth across the US economy (4% since 2012 per the Social Security – Average Wage Index), which runs counter to the broader narrative that executive pay outpaces wages. That said, a large portion of executive pay comes from equity-based compensation, which is influenced by stock market performance. The 4% annualized growth number doesn’t factor in realized pay gains from a strong market (14% CAGR from 2012 to 2023 in an S&P500 index assuming re-invested dividends).
