How Much Media CEOs Made in 2023 Compared to Their Employees
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In 2023, the median compensation for CEOs who ran companies listed on the S&P 500 was $15.2 million. The amount was 194 times larger than what their typical employees earned during the same period.
Public filings show several chief executives of media companies made much more, with an even wider CEO-to-worker pay ratio, according to analysis from executive intelligence firm Equilar.
Last year, Disney’s Robert Iger received $31.6 million in total compensation, which includes salary, bonus, equity awards, and other forms of financial remuneration. It would take one of Disney’s 225,000 employees at the middle of the company’s pay scale 595 years to generate the same income.
Comcast’s Brian Roberts made $35.5 million, resulting in a ratio of 398 to 1. With a $63.2 million pay package, Tim Cook made 672 times more than the median Apple employee.
Recent figures suggest the pay gap between CEOs and employees is bound to keep growing.
“Our data shows S&P 500 CEO pay is on the rise and, as a result, the ratio is following suit,” said Amit Batish, senior director of content and communications at Equilar.
Batish explained that comparing total income between executives and employees can be tricky, as companies tend to compensate CEOs with stock and employees with salaries and bonuses. Nevertheless, he noted, the increasing divide is “likely to continue.”
Not all media executives, of course, had an above average CEO-to-worker pay ratio in 2023. Roblox’s David Baszucki, for instance, earned $2.1 million with a pay ratio of 7 to 1. As founder, Baszucki also owns around 8% of the company, which is valued at $24 billion.
Reddit’s Steve Huffman, meanwhile, made $193 million last year. The vast majority of his compensation was tied to stock. Because the social media platform went public less than a year ago, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission doesn’t require Reddit to disclose how much more Huffman made compared to the median employee.
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