[ARCHIVE] Make Your Move

Examining CEO Wages

April 10, 2014

While headlines proclaim multi-million dollar salaries for CEOs, a deeper look at the data on CEO wages reveals a different picture.

Alan Beaulieu Blog

Do you remember last week’s USA Today headline article about CEO wages? CEOs making $10 million a year? Others were reported at earning over $100 million a year. That’s right; I said “earning” because they are being paid to do a job. Their pay is set by the Board of Directors, and the Board is established by stockholder/investors. They decide whether the pay is reasonable or not. A salary level is not a function of voter referendum or public opinion. The people who have a financial stake in the financial success of the firm determine whether the CEO’s pay is outrageous or unreasonable. People who don’t like the pay level at those few companies should boycott those companies if they feel that strongly about it.

CEO reality is much different from the headline news. The CEOs you and I know don’t make anything like the kind of money reported in the media. The following data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics¹ as of May 2013.

Surgeon - $233,150
Family Doctor and General Practitioner - $183,940
CEO - $178,400
Dentist - $168,870
Marketing Manager - $133,700
Lawyer - $131,990
Chemical Engineer - $104,340
State Governors - $133,348 (average, Pew Research)
Production Workers - $34,930

So why don’t we hear an uproar about doctors, dentists and engineers? The anti-business vitriolic in this country is not healthy. It would be much better to have people aspire to get the education, work hard, make sacrifices, and take risks in an attempt to reach these compensation levels.

1 Metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, Annual Mean Wage.

About the Author

Alan Beaulieu Blog | President

One of the country’s most informed economists, Alan Beaulieu is a principal of the ITR Economics where he serves as President. ITR predicts future economic trends with 94.7% accuracy rate and 60 years of correct calls. In his keynotes, Alan delivers clear, comprehensive action plans and tools for capitalizing on business cycle fluctuations and outperforming your competition--whether the economy is moving up, down, or in a recession.

Since 1990, he has been consulting with companies throughout the US, Europe, and Asia on how to forecast, plan, and increase their profits based on business cycle trend analysis. Alan is also the Senior Economic Advisor to NAW, Contributing Editor for INDUSTRYWEEK, and the Chief Economist for HARDI.

Alan is co-author, along with his brother Brian, of the book MAKE YOUR MOVE, and has written numerous articles on economic analysis. He makes up to 150 appearances each year, and his keynotes and seminars have helped thousands of business owners and executives capitalize on emerging trends.

Prior to joining ITR Economics, Alan was a principal in a steel fabrication company and also in a software development company.