The research, from careers board site Lensa, analysed the average CEO and employee salary at the USA’s 100 biggest companies to find the extent of the wage gap.
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- It found, on average,there is a 2,202% wage gap between a CEO and an employee. This equates to a CEO earning $1,276,520.77 more annually.
Companies With The Largest Wage Gap
Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) recorded the highest disparity between CEO and employee pay, with James Quincey being paid 14,007% more than the average employee. Of all companies analysed, Coca Cola’s employees had the lowest median salary.
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) has the second biggest CEO pay gap of 12,617%, with CEO Kevin Johnson earning a base salary of $1.54 million, whereas the average employee earns just $12,113. Starbucks is the biggest coffee chain in the world, yet its workers receive the second lowest average wage in our study.
In third place, with a CEO pay gap of 3,378%, is Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG). Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol earns a base salary of $1.2 million and his average employee takes home $14,155, which is equivalent to about 1.18% of Mr. Niccol’s salary.
Companies With The Smallest Wage Gap
Tesla CEO Salary Difference: -59%
- Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is a peculiar case in that CEO Elon Musk’s base salary is actually lower than the average employee’s, with a difference of -59%. This represents a novel approach to CEO pay, with Musk receiving stock options and rewards should company performance hit certain benchmarks.
- In fact, in 2020 Elon Musk was the highest-paid CEO, receiving an astounding $6.66 billion worth of compensation, despite having a minimal base salary.
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