CFO Slice

Chief executive compensation at major U.S. companies rose nearly 6% in 2025 to a median of $17.7m, driven by stronger profits, higher stock prices, and large stock-based incentive awards, according to an Associated Press analysis of S&P 500 companies. The report highlighted widening pay gaps between executives and workers, with median employee pay at S&P 500 companies rising 4.7% to $89,744. At many companies, it would take a median worker more than 200 years to earn what the CEO makes in a single year. Tesla CEO Elon Musk received the largest package by far, valued at $132.3bn, entirely through stock awards tied to long-term targets including Tesla’s market value, robotaxi deployment, and humanoid robot development over the next decade. Other large awards included Welltower CEO Shankh Mitra’s $821m package linked to long-term stock performance, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan’s $205m AI-related compensation plan, and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s $165m award tied to the sale of the company to Paramount Skydance. Major bank CEOs also received sizable payouts, including Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon at nearly $119m, and Citigroup’s Jane Fraser at $95.8m. The report noted that modern CEO pay is increasingly dominated by long-term stock incentives rather than salary and bonuses, with boards using equity awards to align executives with shareholder returns and retain leadership talent.