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CEO pay: Zooming out over the last 50 years

CEO pay: Zooming out over the last 50 years

David Crowther

The bigger picture

‍Aside from the big individual stories this week, the debate on CEO pay, and inequality more generally, is likely to intensify as inflation squeezes the cost of living for workers — who have seen a 3-4% real pay cut on average, once adjusted for inflation.

Indeed, this updated chart above, using data from the EPI shows how CEO compensation has outstripped that of typical workers over the last 50+ years.

From 1965-1970 the average CEO of a top company in the US earned 23x that of a typical worker. By 1990 that was 74x. In 2020 the average top CEO's actual, realized compensation was more than 350x that of a typical employee (the realized vs. granted difference is primarily down to stock market returns, as stock options and equity usually make up the majority of CEO compensation deals).

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Shares of US auto giant Ford are down more than 2% on Thursday morning following reports of another major fire at its primary aluminum supplier’s plant in Oswego County, New York.

Local media reported that a four-alarm fire broke out at the Novelis plant, which supplies 40% of the aluminum sheet for the US auto industry, on Thursday morning.

Last month, Ford said a September fire at the plant would hit its earnings by between $1.5 billion and $2 billion in the fourth quarter. The company said it would be able to mitigate about $1 billion of that next year.

As of 10:15 a.m. ET, local officials said the fire is under control and everyone had been safely evacuated. Novelis previously said it would be able to restart operations at the part of the plant most damaged by the September fire next month.

Large fire reported again at Novelis aluminum plant in Oswego County

Large fire reported again at Novelis aluminum plant in Oswego County

Last month, Ford said a September fire at the plant would hit its earnings by between $1.5 billion and $2 billion in the fourth quarter. The company said it would be able to mitigate about $1 billion of that next year.

As of 10:15 a.m. ET, local officials said the fire is under control and everyone had been safely evacuated. Novelis previously said it would be able to restart operations at the part of the plant most damaged by the September fire next month.

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