Median compensation for S&P 500 chief executives rose nearly 10% to $17.1 million in 2024, fueled by surging corporate profits and a booming stock market, according to an annual survey by the Associated Press and Equilar.
The gains far outpaced the 1.7% median pay increase for employees, whose typical compensation reached $85,419.
Stock awards — often tied to company performance — accounted for most of the CEO pay growth, with their median value rising almost 15%.
Rick Smith, CEO of Axon Enterprises, led the list with a pay package worth $164.5 million. The maker of Taser devices and body cameras saw revenue grow more than 30% for three straight years, and its stock more than doubled in 2024.
Other top earners included GE Aerospace’s Lawrence Culp ($87.4 million), Apple’s Tim Cook ($74.6 million), Carrier Global’s David Gitlin ($65.6 million), and Netflix’s Ted Sarandos ($61.9 million).
The gap between CEO and employee pay remains stark. At half the companies surveyed, a typical worker would need 192 years to match their CEO’s annual compensation. The widest gaps were seen in industries with lower wages. Carnival Corp.’s CEO earned nearly 1,300 times the company’s median worker pay of $16,900, while McDonald’s CEO made about 1,000 times more.
Public companies have been required to disclose CEO-to-worker pay ratios since 2018.