Global CEOs' pay went up by 50% since 2019, 56 times more than workers: Oxfam analysis

New Delhi: Noting that the average pay for CEOs in India has reached USD 2 million a year, a new study by research and advocacy group Oxfam said the average pay for global CEOs surged by 50 per cent in real terms since 2019, against a 0.9 per cent hike in average worker's wages.

Every hour, billionaires pocket more wealth than the average worker earns in an entire year, the analysis said, underlining that the average gender pay gap in 11,366 corporations worldwide narrowed slightly from 27 per cent to 22 per cent between 2022 and 2023 -- yet their average female employee still effectively works for free on Fridays, while their average male employee is paid through the week.

"This is a 50 per cent real-term increase from USD 2.9 million in 2019 (adjusted for inflation) -- a rise that far outpaces the real wage growth of the average worker, who saw a 0.9 per cent increase over the same five-year period in countries where CEO pay data is available," the analysis said.

Ireland and Germany have some of the highest-paid CEOs, earning an average of USD 6.7 million and USD 4.7 million a year in 2024, respectively.

The analysis said the average CEO's pay in South Africa was USD 1.6 million in 2024, while in India, it reached USD 2 million.

"Year after year, we see the same grotesque spectacle: CEO pay explodes while workers' wages barely budge. 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," Oxfam International executive director Amitabh Behar said.

The boosts to global CEO pay come as warnings grow that wages are failing to keep pace with the cost of living, the analysis said.

While the International Labour Organization (ILO) reported real wages grew by 2.7 per cent in 2024, many workers have seen their wages stagnate.

In France, South Africa and Spain, for example, real wage growth was just 0.6 per cent last year. While wage inequality decreased globally, it remains very high, particularly in low-income countries, where the share of income of the richest 10 per cent is 3.4 times higher than the poorest 40 per cent.

The analysis said the billionaires -- who often fully, or in part, own large corporations -- pocketed on an average USD 206 billion in new wealth over the last year, which is equivalent to USD 23,500 an hour, more than the global average income in 2023 (USD 21,000).

Beyond the runaway CEO pay, the global working class is now facing a new threat: sweeping US tariffs.

These policies pose significant risks for workers worldwide, including job losses and rising costs for basic goods that would stoke extreme inequality everywhere.

"For so many workers worldwide, US President Donald Trump's reckless use of tariffs means a push from one cruel order to another: from the frying pan of destructive neoliberal trade policy to the fire of weaponised tariffs. These policies will not only hurt working families in the US, but especially harm workers trying to escape poverty in some of the world's poorest countries,” Behar said.

Increasingly, corporations are being required by the law to report their gender pay gaps -- the average difference in earnings between women and men.

Oxfam’s analysis of the S&P Capital IQ database found that among 11,366 corporations across 82 countries that reported gender pay gap data, the average gap narrowed slightly from 27 per cent to 22 per cent between 2022 and 2023.

Yet, on average, women in these corporations still effectively work without pay on Fridays, while their male counterparts are paid for the full week, the study said.