Which countries have the highest-paid CEOs?
Compensation received by chief executive officers around the world soared to $4.3 million in 2024, outpacing the growth of an average worker, according to a new report.
A new analysis from Oxfam revealed that average CEO pay surged by 50% in real terms since 2019, much higher than average workers' 0.9% growth.
By country, Ireland and Germany reported the highest-paid CEOs, who earned an average of $6.7 million and $4.7 million annually in 2024, respectively. Average CEO pay in South Africa also hit $1.6 million in 2024, while it reached $2 million in India.
The findings come as regular employees' real wages struggle to keep up with the rising costs of living.
In fact, the report found that billionaires pocketed on average $206 billion in new wealth over the last year. This is equivalent to $23,500 an hour, higher than the global average income of $21,000 in 2023.
"Year after year, we see the same grotesque spectacle: CEO pay explodes while workers' wages barely budge," said Amitabh Behar, executive director of Oxfam International, in a statement.
Findings from the International Labour Organisation reported that real wages of regular workers grew by just 2.7% in 2024. Some countries reported even lower, with:
"The outrageous pay inequality between CEOs and workers confirms that we lack democracy where it is needed most: at work," said Luc Triangle, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), in a statement.
Meanwhile, the report also found that the gender pay gap narrowed slightly from 27% to 22% between 2022 and 2023.
This is according to Oxfam's analysis of 11,366 corporations across 82 countries that reported their gender pay gap data.
Despite this progress, however, the report noted that women on average are still working without pay on Fridays, while men are paid for the full week.
The highest average gender pay gaps in 2023 were recorded in Japan and South Korea, which both hit around 40%. Other markets recorded:
