A frequent criticism leveled against executive compensation is that “it’s just not fair.” If looking purely at the statistics, one may draw a similar conclusion.

The average annual pay for United States workers in 2020 according to Bureau of Labor Statistics was $52,168, while the average CEO/median worker pay ratio disclosed by the S&P 500 was 299:1. The total pay for CEOs in the 300 largest US companies reviewed by Korn Ferry increased by approximately 7% annually over the last decade, while that for the average worker went up only 3%. READ MORE