A lone yacht in the middle of the sea. Are top paid CEOs out of touch with people and our planet?
Tomorrow’s quintessential question; How do we share the wealth? Should it all go to one person? Or one trust fund? In the extreme, this is where the trends indicate we are going.
According to Bernie Sanders, 4 hedge fund managers make more than 120,000 kindergarten teachers, today. The trend toward extreme inequality is unrelenting and affects everyone.
The top 10 US-based CEO‘s generated $1,563 million in personal compensation 2022. Nine of 10 of these CEO’s led companies which generated less than 10% increase in shareholder wealth.
Seven CEO’s oversaw billions in shareholder declines throughout the year. But this did not stop the CEOs from collecting. Admittedly, 2022 was a tough year for the stock market in general. But what does this say to other employees about paying for performance?
The message to other executives and middle managers is to take what you can while the taking is available. For the rest of us, this is the time to apply pressure for change.
Top 10 US-based CEO Pay in 2022
Larry Fink, the CEO of Blackrock
Blackrock CEO $253 million
Alphabet CEO $226 million
Hertz CEO $182 million
Peloton CEO $168 million
Live Nation CEO $ 139 million
Oracle CEO $ 138 million
Sarepta Therapeutics $ 125 million
Pinterest $123 million
CS Disco $ 110 million
Apple $ 99 million
Source: c-Suite Comp via CNBC
How do you profit from this? Use it as a benchmark of honesty. When a company says in bold print, “we value our employees” and then pays its CEO a gross amount for non-performance and pays employees a living wage, you can understand the limits of his/her words.
Although the issues are more nuanced than one simple calculation, it definitely indicates the issues deserve our attention.
That is our approach. Join us today. [email protected]
Author: Michael Cooper
About Michael Cooper A contrarian with an even temperament. These characteristics are useful in investment markets when coupled with a Western University (Canada) economics degree, CFA designation, years of finance and investment industry experience and most importantly, access to the teachings of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. My career started in 1990 working with a couple second rate Toronto-based finance boutiques and a couple first rate investment firms. I was involved in private equity and venture capital, financing approximately $50 million worth of transactions, finding target companies, performing valuation analysis and documentation, negotiating terms and pitching deals to institutional investors. In 2015 Cooper Financial Research was refocused toward the DIY investor - aiming to help regular people build sustainable wealth. A successful track record based on my personal portfolio was developed. New investors were provided with access to replicate my allocations through a weekly newsletter service. Contact me: [email protected]
