A new report from Oxfam reveals that global CEO compensation has outpaced worker wage growth by a staggering margin since 2019.
An analysis of 2,000 companies across 35 countries found that CEO pay has risen by 50% in real terms, while the average worker’s wages have grown by only 0.9% in the same timeframe.
The report, released to coincide with International Workers’ Day, highlights that CEO pay has grown 56 times more than the average worker’s earnings since 2019. All companies surveyed had CEOs earning over $1 million (€885,000) in 2024.
In Europe, executives in Ireland and Germany were among the highest paid, earning average annual salaries of $6.7 million (€5.9 million) and $4.7 million (€4.1 million), respectively. In contrast, average CEO compensation in South Africa and India was lower, at $1.6 million (€1.4 million) and $2 million (€1.7 million).
“Year after year, we see the same grotesque spectacle: CEO pay explodes while workers’ wages barely budge,” said Oxfam International Executive Director Amitabh Behar. “This isn’t a glitch in the system — it’s the system working exactly as designed, funnelling wealth ever upwards while millions of working people struggle to afford rent, food, and healthcare,” added Behar.
The study also pointed to ongoing gender disparity in corporate leadership. Among more than 45,000 companies where CEOs earned over $10 million (€8.86 million) and gender data was available, fewer than 7% of those leaders were women.
“Around the world, workers are being denied the basics of life while corporations pocket record profits, dodge taxes and lobby to evade responsibility,” said Luc Triangle, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
Billionaires, many of whom are full or partial owners of major corporations, accumulated an average of $206 billion (€182.7 billion) in new wealth over the past year. This equates to earnings of $23,500 (€20,836) per hour — surpassing the global average annual income of $21,000 (€18,621) in 2023.
While the International Labour Organization (ILO) reported a 2.7% global increase in real wages in 2024, many workers, particularly in France, South Africa, and Spain, experienced minimal growth, with real wages rising just 0.6% in those countries.
Despite a slight global reduction in wage inequality, low-income nations continue to face severe disparities. In these regions, the income of the richest 10% is still 3.4 times higher than that of the poorest 40%.
