The usual CEO pay went up by nearly 6% in 2025 to $17.7 million. Company boards gave their top bosses more money because profits went up and shareholders got more returns. They also gave them reasons to stay and keep going in the years ahead.

In half the companies in the reporters’ survey, the worker in the middle gets much less money than the CEO. It would take 200 years to make what the CEO made in one year. Last year, it was 192 years.

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Reporters’ CEO pay survey used data from Equilar for Reporters. It had pay data for 337 leaders at S&P 500 companies. These leaders worked for at least two full years at their companies. The companies filed proxy statements between Jan. 1 and April 30.