A CEO is worth 62 presidents

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


Sure, corporate profits and stock prices boomed in the 90s, but the real growth story was in CEO salaries. Your average corporate exec’s paycheck swelled by 535 percent in the last 10 years — more than four times the growth rate of profits of the companies they run, according to a new study from UNITED FOR A FAIR ECONOMY.

Recent Must Reads

8/31 – Gee, your lawn smells terrific

8/30 – Catch a speeding Gore

8/29 – Lone Star lockdown

8/26 – Black rhinos buy the farm That unhappy portion of the citizenry that doesn’t hold keys to executive washrooms, of course, made out considerably worse. The average workers’ pay rose only 32 percent in the 90s. If salaries for normal folks had risen at the same rate as those of CEOs, production workers would be pulling in $114,035 a year, and the minimum wage would be $24.13 an hour. But at least ordinary-wage slaves aren’t the only ones being left in the dust: CEOs today also make 62 times the salary of the President of the United States.

ONLY HOURS LEFT—AND EVERYTHING RIDING ON IT

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

With just hours left, we need a huge surge in reader support to get to our $400,000 year-end goal. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters. All gifts are 3X matched and tax-deductible.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

ONLY HOURS LEFT—AND EVERYTHING RIDING ON IT

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

With just hours left, we need a huge surge in reader support to get to our $400,000 year-end goal. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters. All gifts are 3X matched and tax-deductible.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate