Gloria Holmes
Reuters. – The median salary of America’s top CEOs jumped 31% last year to a record $20 million, according to a new study indicating a rise after a slight decline during the Covid-19 pandemic. cash rewards.
CEOs who have received big pay increases include leaders of tech giant Apple and semiconductor maker Broadcom Inc, according to the study published Monday by research firm Equilar.
The study covered the 100 largest U.S. companies by revenue that filed proxy returns before March 31. The same study a year ago found that the average CEO salary was $15.5 million, down 2% from 2020.
Equilar’s chief content officer, Amit Patish, said companies are looking to reward leaders who have guided them through challenges such as supply shortages. Higher earnings and share prices also boosted compensation.
“A lot of these companies have done really well during the pandemic, which has definitely led to higher wages,” he said.
Bteish added that higher wages can attract important shareholder votes, even though other investors care more about returns.
The trends also raised the ratio of CEO pay to average worker wages at companies to 254:1 from 238:1 a year ago, according to the Equilar study.
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He cited executives like Apple CEO Tim Cook, who earned $98.7 million last year, up from $14.8 million in 2020, including a large stock award.
Investors cast 64% of the vote in favor of the push at the company’s March 4 annual meeting, a low level of support. Apple declined to comment.
At chip maker Broadcom, CEO Hock Tan earned $60.7 million last year, up from $3.7 million the year before. On April 4, investors cast 80% of the vote in favor of Pay. Broadcom declined to comment.
Laurence Malcom
