CEO Compensation Skyrockets While Workers Struggle
The world's top 1,500 CEOs saw their pay rise by 11% in real terms in 2025, while average global workers received only a 0.5% wage increase—meaning CEO pay grew 20 times faster, according to a new analysis by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and Oxfam.
In the United States, the gap was even wider: CEO pay increased 25.6% versus just 1.3% for workers, a ratio of 20.4 to 1.
“This data really puts some numbers behind what average working folks are feeling day to day,” said Patricia Stottlemyer, policy lead for labor rights at Oxfam America.
Staggering CEO Pay Packages
The average CEO took home $8.4 million in pay and bonuses in 2025, up from $7.6 million in 2024. Since 2019, CEO compensation has surged 54% in real terms, from $5.5 million.
Some executives earn far more. Broadcom's CEO received a $205.3 million pay package, and Microsoft's CEO got $96 million.
Meanwhile, workers' real wages have dropped 12% since 2019, and 48% of the world's population lives in poverty, Stottlemyer noted.
Affordability Crisis Compounds Inequality
Food prices have risen 15% and gasoline prices 14% since 2019, adjusted for inflation. On April 28, U.S. gas prices hit $4.18 per gallon—a four-year high.
“Food and gas prices are soaring, and while workers face exceptional hardship, the CEOs of the world's largest corporations have never had it so good,” Stottlemyer said.
Background: International Workers' Day Analysis
The report, released ahead of International Workers' Day (May Day), highlights how extreme wealth inequality has worsened as the cost of living crisis deepens.
Billionaire wealth grew by $126,000 per second in 2025, and companies paid $79 billion in dividends to billionaires last year—equivalent to $2,500 every second.
Stottlemyer emphasized that the affordability crisis cannot be discussed without acknowledging the growing gap between workers and the ultra-rich.
What This Means: Workers Left Behind
The data shows that while workers have become more productive, they have less to show for it. CEO pay continues to skyrocket while real wages stagnate or decline.
“CEOs have never had it so good,” Stottlemyer said, warning that the trend undermines economic fairness and social stability.
The report calls for policy changes to rein in executive pay and boost worker wages, including tax reforms and stronger labor protections.