Elon Musk's massive pay deals equate to CEO-worker pay gap that spans lifetimes
Photo Credit: Getty Images With a possible SpaceX initial public offering fueling fresh buzz online, CEO Elon Musk's massive pay packages are back in the spotlight. But the backlash is about more than one billionaire. New data shows the CEO-to-worker pay gap at major U.S. companies has grown so extreme that, at many firms, it now spans multiple lifetimes. What happened? Musk is drawing renewed attention because of the sheer size of the compensation packages tied to his companies. Last year, Tesla investors backed a plan that could reach $1 trillion if the company hits major targets over the next 10 years. In 2025, the value attached to that package topped $158 billion. A separate SpaceX award could climb to nearly $760 billion if similarly lofty goals are met. At about the same time, the Associated Press and Equilar released a new analysis of CEO compensation showing that median pay for S&P 500 CEOs rose to $17.7 million in 2025 — up nearly 6% from the year before. Worker pay increased, too, but at a much slower pace: Average compensation reached $89,744, up 4.7%. At half of the companies in the survey, a typical employee would need two centuries to earn what the CEO made in one year. In the previous survey, that figure was 192 years. Why does it matter? Executive compensation has continued to rise even as wage growth for many households has remained far more limited. Over the past three decades, that divide has widened dramatically. Many CEO pay packages consist heavily of stock awards, so their value can rise or fall with company performance. What are people saying? Much of the response has centered on one phrase: "200 years." Online, many people said that no healthy economy should produce pay gaps measured in centuries. Others said Musk's enormous compensation deals simply make the broader trend harder to ignore. Even outside Tesla and SpaceX, the Associated Press and Equilar analysis found that several top CEOs received pay packages worth more than $100 million. Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
