David M. Zaslav earned $156 million in 2014.
By Raif Karerat
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Glassdoor has published a new report that thoroughly reiterates the massive pay gap between chief executives and those who work for them. According to the figures, the average CEO’s pay amounts to 204 times more than median worker pay.
The average CEO pay was $13.8 million a year, compared to median worker pay of about $77,800. The information came from executive compensation numbers disclosed in SEC filings, and salary information submitted to Glassdoor over the years by workers across the country.
Per the report, the company with the highest ratio of CEO pay to median worker pay is Discovery Communications. CEO David M. Zaslav earned $156 million in 2014 while median worker pay was $80,000, for a pay ratio of 1,951.
The second highest is Chipotle, where CEO Steve Ells earned $28.9 million while median worker pay was $19,000, which equates to a pay ratio of 1,522.
Rounding out the top five with the highest pay ratios are CVS Health (Larry J. Merlo, pay ratio of 1,192); Walmart (Douglas McMillon, pay ratio of 1,133), and Target (Brian C. Cornell, pay ratio of 939).
Google’s CEO to worker pay ratio was effectively zero, the second lowest ratio on the report’s list. In 2014, then-CEO Larry Page officially earned just $1, while the median worker pay at the company was $153,150.
Facebook had the fourth lowest ratio at 4. The median worker pay was $146,120, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s compensation was $610,455.
The lowest CEO pay ratio was literally zero over at Fossil, whose CEO Kosta Kartsotis reported $0 compensation in 2014. As noted in Fossil’s SEC filing, “Mr. Kartsotis again refused all forms of compensation for fiscal 2014. Mr. Kartsotis is one of the initial investors in our company and expressed his belief that his primary compensation is met by continuing to drive stock price growth.â€
Glassdoors’ report comes at a time when investors grumbles about executive pay are starting to reach a deafening cacophony.
Investors who are seeking lower executive compensation — and people who wish to advocate for better worker pay — will soon have a new weapon in their arsenal. Earlier this month, the SEC approved a rule that will take effect in 2017 and require publicly traded companies to transparently disclose the ratio of CEO compensation to worker pay.