CEO pay remains stratospheric, even in pandemic-stricken companies

And, according to security deposits, a privileged few are quickly accumulating new fortunes. Chad Richison, founder and CEO of Oklahoma software company Paycom, is worth more than $ 3 billion and received $ 211 million last year, when his company made a profit of $ 144 million. dollars. John Legere, the former CEO of T-Mobile, received $ 137.2 million last year, a reward for taking over rival Sprint.

“We’ve created this class of centimillionaires and billionaires who haven’t been good to this country,” said Nell Minow, vice president of ValueEdge Advisors, an investment advisory firm. “They can build a wing on a museum. But it’s not the infrastructure – it’s not the middle class. “

The gap between executive pay and the average wage of workers has been widening for decades. According to the Economic Policy Institute, executives of large companies now earn on average 320 times more than their typical worker. In 1989, this ratio was 61 to 1. From 1978 to 2019, compensation increased by 14 percent for typical workers. It increased by 1167% for CEOs

The pandemic has only worsened these disparities, as hundreds of companies awarded by their leaders pay packages worth significantly more than most Americans will earn in their lifetime.

“In my opinion, they are the logical consequence of our full adherence to shareholder capitalism, starting with the corporate looters of the 1980s, to the exclusion and sacrifice of everything else, including American workers,” said Robert Reich, a secretary at work under President Bill Clinton. “Salary packages reflect the surge in stock prices, which in turn reflects, at least in part, the willingness, if not the eagerness, of companies to downsize at the slightest provocation.

AT&T, the media conglomerate, lost $ 5.4 billion and cut thousands of jobs throughout the year. John Stankey, the chief executive, received $ 21 million for his work in 2020, up from $ 22.5 million in 2019.

T-Mobile has said it will create new jobs through its merger with Sprint, but has already started layoffs. He made $ 3.1 billion in 2020. In addition to Mr. Legere’s windfall, the company gave its current CEO, Mike Sievert, $ 54.9 million.