Misryoum reports that in 2025 CEO pay rose much faster than workers’ wages, highlighting widening inequality amid cost-of-living pressure.
CEO pay rose dramatically faster than workers’ wages in 2025, underscoring an affordability crunch that many households are struggling with.
Misryoum analysis points to a widening gap between executive compensation and pay for ordinary workers as energy. food. and grocery costs continue to strain household budgets.. In 2025. the top CEOs of the world’s largest corporations received an 11% real-terms increase. while the average global worker saw real wages rise by just 0.5%.. Put simply, CEO compensation grew about 20 times faster than workers’ pay.
In the United States, Misryoum says the difference was even sharper: CEO pay grew 20.4 times faster than workers’ wages, with gains reported at 25.6% versus 1.3%.
That kind of gap matters because it changes how widely economic gains are shared. When pay at the top accelerates while wages at the bottom barely move, household spending power can weaken even in periods when companies still generate growth.
The compensation figures also show a longer-term pattern.. Misryoum notes that the average CEO received $8.4 million in pay and bonuses in 2025, up from $7.6 million in 2024.. Looking back to 2019. Misryoum reports a 54% increase in real terms for average CEO pay. while real wages for workers worldwide fell 12% over the same span.
The underlying context is the cost-of-living pressure workers face day to day.. Misryoum highlights inflation-adjusted increases of 15% for food and 14% for gasoline between 2019 and 2025.. The broader message is that when everyday expenses rise faster than take-home pay, inequality becomes more visible, not less.
Beyond CEO pay, Misryoum also flags rising wealth at the very top, supported in part by how profits are distributed.. Misryoum reports that billionaire wealth increased by $126,000 per second in 2025, and that dividends paid to billionaires totaled $79 billion that year.. The analysis suggests workers generate value, but take a shrinking share of the rewards.
This is a key takeaway for markets and politics alike: when economic power and political influence concentrate, policy can tilt toward the interests of the wealthiest, making wage gains harder to secure for everyone else.
Misryoum says the analysis frames the situation as part of a “rigged” system that leaves working families behind. pointing to issues such as limits on labor rights and stagnant wage policy.. It also notes calls for higher taxes on the rich. limits on CEO pay. and wage floor reforms. including raising the U.S.. minimum wage from its long-standing level.
While May Day is rooted in labor organizing across history. Misryoum emphasizes the urgency of the current debate: the argument is not only about paychecks. but about whether economic systems are designed to deliver fairness as productivity and profits grow.. In that sense. the numbers are more than statistics; they are a signal of where leverage and bargaining power currently sit.