Questions about CEO-to-employee pay ratio have been hotly debated for many years, often sparking controversy. But which businesses have the greatest pay gap between CEOs and employees?
To explore this topic, Switch on Business has analysed the difference in wages between CEOs and employees in some of the USA’s largest businesses, revealing some shocking pay disparities. You can find the full study here: https://switchonbusiness.com/ceo-vs-employee-pay/
It would take the average Amazon worker 6,474 years to earn what CEO Andrew Jassy makes in one year
Amazon has the biggest annual salary disparity between the CEO and average employees. In 2021, Amazon’s CEO Andrew Jassy took home an annual salary of $212,701,169 while the average employee was paid $32,855. This is a pay ratio of 6474:1, meaning it would take the average Amazon worker nearly 6,474 years to earn what Andrew Jassy makes in a single year.
McDonald’s has the second largest pay gap, with employees needing just over 2,251 years to earn what CEO Christopher Kempczinski does in just one year. This is followed by TJX companies where it would take the average worker over 2,249 years to match the CEO’s annual pay, and Oracle where it would take more than 1,841 years.
The table below shows the top five companies where it would take median pay earners the longest time to earn what their CEO makes in just one year:
| Company | Average annual employee salary | Average annual CEO salary | Pay ratio | How many years of annual median pay to reach CEO annual pay | |
| 1 | Amazon | $32,855 | $212,701,169 | 6,474:1 | 6473.9 |
| 2 | McDonald | $8,897 | $20,028,132 | 2,251:1 | 2251.1 |
| 3 | TJX Companies | $14,139 | $31,802,000 | 2,249:1 | 2249.2 |
| 4 | Oracle | $75,043 | $138,192,032 | 1,842:1 | 1841.5 |
| 5 | Coca-Cola | $13,894 | $24,883,878 | 1,791:1 | 1791.0 |
Top CEOs earn more than their employees make all year in just a few hours
Switch on Business also investigated which CEOs earn the equivalent of a median worker’s annual pay in the shortest amount of time. Amazon’s CEO Andrew Jassy tops the list, earning the average Amazon employee’s annual salary in as little as one hour and 18 minutes.
McDonald’s CEO Christopher Kempczinski and TJX CEO Ernie Herrman follow, both earning the average worker’s yearly salary in just under four hours.
Airbnb is the most equitable company, with a pay ratio of 1:1
Airbnb, Berkshire Hathaway, and Alphabet (Google) are the country’s most equitable businesses when it comes to CEO vs employee pay disparity, but Airbnb is the only company with a 1:1 pay ratio. Berkshire Hathaway has a pay ratio of 6:1, ahead of Alphabet (Google) which has a ratio of 21:1.
Amazon CEO Andrew Jassy’s yearly salary could pay for nearly 20,000 people’s medical insurance
The average yearly medical insurance cost of $10,739 in the US is unaffordable for many. However, this amount is only a small fraction of the annual compensation for America’s top CEOs.
Amazon’s CEO Andrew Jassy could cover the annual medical insurance fees for 19,806 people with just one year’s salary. Similarly, the CEO of Intel could pay insurance for 16,630 people, and the CEO of ServiceNow for 15,439 people. These figures expose the vast wealth gap between CEOs and regular workers in the US.
Rank | Company | Medical cost | Employee VS CEO | |
| Medical cost ratio based on average of $10,739 | Percentage of CEO’s annual salary | How many peoplethe CEO could pay annual medical cost for | ||
| 1 | Amazon | 3.05940962845703:1 | 32.69% | 19,806 |
| 2 | Intel | 9.72157556569513:1 | 10.29% | 16,630 |
| 3 | ServiceNow | 21.7766086227768:1 | 4.59% | 15,439 |
| 4 | Oracle | 6.98789458981283:1 | 14.31% | 12,868 |
| 5 | Apple | 6.35571282242295:1 | 15.73% | 9,194 |
To find out more about CEO vs employee earnings in America, find the full research here:https://switchonbusiness.com/ceo-vs-employee-pay/
