CEO pay skyrockets in 2025 amid growing income inequality in the US

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that executive pay in the United States rose further in 2025 even as the gap between CEOs and workers continued to widen. Citing the AFL-CIO’s annual Paywatch report, the labor federation said chief executives in S&P 500 companies earned about 312 times the median worker’s pay, up from 285 times in 2024. The report argues that such compensation patterns can reinforce income inequality and may encourage short-term corporate decisions over long-term stability.

The article highlights Tesla CEO Elon Musk as the most extreme case. The AFL-CIO excluded him from its average because his 2025 pay, reported at $158bn, amounted to about 2.5 million times Tesla’s median worker pay and exceeded the company’s annual revenue. Al Jazeera says Tesla also recorded lower revenue and sales in 2025, while facing recalls and consumer boycotts linked to Musk’s role in President Donald Trump’s administration. Musk also briefly led the Trump-backed Department of Government Efficiency and remains involved in other ventures including X and SpaceX.

Across the index, average CEO compensation excluding Musk rose 21 percent to $22.8m, while the average including him jumped far higher. Al Jazeera notes especially large gaps in manufacturing and in arts, entertainment and recreation, and cites examples such as Starbucks, Amazon and McDonald’s. The report also says Trump’s own income increased sharply in 2025, underscoring broader concerns about concentrated wealth during a period of weaker consumer sentiment and a softening US labor market.