The sick got sicker, and the rich got richer in 2020 as the difference in pay between CEOs and median employees grew, even with the COVID-19 pandemic raging on.
The average S&P 500 company CEO made 299 times the average worker's salary, according to AFL-CIO's annual Executive Paywatch, CNN says. In other terms, the average production and nonsupervisory worker in 2020 earned $43,512 compared to executives receiving $15.5 million in total compensation on average.
Listen to your favorite News/Talk station now on Audacy.
Over the past decade, there has been an increase of $260,000 per year in CEO's pay, while average workers saw growth of only $957 a year over the past decade. In 2020 alone, however, executives' average total compensation increased more than $700,000, according to the outlet.
Related
"This is consistent with what we've been seeing year to year," Liz Shuler, AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer, said in a press conference with reporters Wednesday, CNN reported. "Inequality, the imbalance in our economy, is clear by this report that the pay of CEOs and working people continues to be a major problem in this country."
Companies with the highest-paid CEOs include Nike, Microsoft, General Electric, and Netflix, to name a few. All of these companies saw an increase in business during the pandemic.
Some of the highest disparity companies come from the consumer discretionary industry, where retailers like Amazon have a pay disparity of 741:1 CEO-to-worker ratio.
Many have been taking their opinions to Twitter calling for an increase to minimum wages.
"The only reason we're reaching the other side of the Covid-19 pandemic is because working people stepped up," Shuler said. "We hear so many business leaders calling these workers essential and calling them heroes, but words are not enough. We have always been essential, doing the critical work to make this country hum."
Related
Some billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates have been in the news lately with big announcements.
Bezos stepped down as the Amazon CEO at the end of last month and soon became the richest man in the history of the world the next day.
On the other hand, Gates announced that his wife would leave the Gates foundation if the two could not work well together over the next two years.
Related
The U.S. economy has started to see a return to normal, with 850,000 jobs being added last month, showing that job growth is accelerating. But despite this, the labor market is still down 6.8 million jobs since February 2020.
America is also dealing with rapid inflation as the consumer price index grew by 0.9% in June, the largest one-month increase in 13 years. Prices over the last year have gone up 5.4%, continuing a trend that is squeezing consumers who are struggling to keep up.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram