Trending Now - CEO Salaries Surge Nearly 6% in 2025, Sparking Debate

WHO:

ABC News - The survey included pay data for 337 executives at S&P 500 companies.

ABC News - Sarah Anderson directs the Global Economy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies.

ABC News - Elon Musk is the CEO of Tesla.

ABC News - Shankh Mitra is the CEO of Welltower.

ABC News - Hock Tan is the CEO of Broadcom.

ABC News - David Zaslav is the CEO of Warner Bros.

ABC News - David Solomon is the CEO of Goldman Sachs.

ABC News - Jane Fraser is the CEO of Citigroup.

ABC News - Charles Scharf is the CEO of Wells Fargo.

ABC News - Warren Buffett was the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

ABC News - Mark Zuckerberg is the CEO of Meta Platforms.

ABC News - Jensen Huang is the CEO of Nvidia.

WHAT:

ABC News - The typical CEO compensation package rose nearly 6% in 2025 to $17.7 million.

ABC News - The median employee at S&P 500 companies earned $89,744, reflecting a 4.7% increase year over year.

ABC News - At half the companies surveyed, it would take the worker at the middle of the pay scale 200 years to make what the CEO did in one year.

ABC News - Elon Musk received a compensation package valued at $132.3 billion, all in stock awards.

ABC News - Shankh Mitra received a compensation package valued at $821.1 million.

ABC News - Hock Tan's pay package was valued at $205.3 million.

ABC News - David Zaslav received a pay package valued at $165 million.

ABC News - David Solomon's pay package totaled almost $119 million.

ABC News - Jane Fraser received a pay package valued at $95.8 million.

ABC News - Charles Scharf's pay package was worth $94.5 million.

ABC News - Warren Buffett received compensation worth $389,488.

ABC News - Mark Zuckerberg's compensation was valued at $25.1 million.

ABC News - Jensen Huang's pay package was valued at $36.3 million.

WHERE:

ABC News - The survey included data from S&P 500 companies.

WHEN:

ABC News - The survey included pay data for executives who served at least two full consecutive fiscal years and filed proxy statements between January 1 and April 30.

WHY:

ABC News - Company boards rewarded top executives for bigger profits and higher stock prices.

ABC News - There are ballot initiative campaigns in San Francisco and Los Angeles to raise taxes on companies with sizable gaps between CEO and worker pay.

HOW:

ABC News - Many companies have tied CEO compensation more closely to performance, with a large proportion of pay packages consisting of stock awards.

(UPDATED May 27, 2026 18:03 UTC)

A recent survey of 337 executives at S&P 500 companies reveals that the typical CEO compensation package rose nearly six percent in 2025 to $17.7 million, while the median employee earned $89,744, reflecting a 4.7 percent increase year over year. Notably, Elon Musk's compensation package was valued at a staggering $132.3 billion, primarily in stock awards, while other CEOs like Shankh Mitra and Hock Tan received packages worth $821.1 million and $205.3 million, respectively. This trend of rewarding top executives for higher profits and stock prices has sparked ballot initiative campaigns in San Francisco and Los Angeles aimed at raising taxes on companies with significant pay disparities between CEOs and workers.