In fact, the typical CEO made a whopping 312 times their median employees' salary in 2017, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
But some chief executives earn salaries that are seemingly disproportionate to their company's shareholder returns. A new report from As You Sow, a nonprofit focused on shareholder advocacy, ranks the most "overpaid" leaders on the S&P 500.
To figure out who's overpaid, As You Sow calculated the ratio of CEO pay in 2018 to total shareholder return at each company, as well as the companies where the most shares were voted against the CEO pay package (the first ratio was weighted double).
Ronald F. Clarke, CEO of Fleetcor Technologies Inc., which makes corporate payment products, took the No. 1 spot. According to the analysis, Clarke is overpaid by 263%. His expected pay based on Fleetcor's performance is $14,483,985; his actual pay is $52,643,810. Per the report, 86% of shareholders voted against Clarke's pay package.
Because there was a change in CEO at a few companies (Oracle Corp., The Walt Disney Co., TransDigm Group, Inc., and Discovery, Inc.), the salary of the higher-paid CEO was counted.
Below, we've listed the 25 most overpaid CEOs, as well as each of their salaries, the median employee salary at their company, and the pay ratio.
25. Randall Stephenson, AT&T, Inc.
Median employee pay: $78,437
24. Reed Hastings, Netflix, Inc.
Median employee pay: $183,304
23. Paal Kibsgaard, Schlumberger NV
Median employee pay: $88,604
22. Brenton Saunders, Allergan Plc
Median employee pay: $94,064
21. Brian Roberts, Comcast Corp.
Median employee pay: $71,006
20. Ari Bousbib, IQVIA Holdings, Inc.
Median employee pay: $97,997
19. Richard B. Handler, Jefferies Financial Group, Inc.
Median employee pay: $44,584
18. Leonard S. Schleifer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Median employee pay: $123,418
17. Mark D. Okerstrom, Expedia Group, Inc.
Median employee pay: $71,696
16. Jeffrey A. Miller, Halliburton Co.
Median employee pay: $79,636
15. Debra A. Cafaro, Ventas, Inc.
Median employee pay: $88,630
14. James Cracchiolo, Ameriprise Financial, Inc.
Median employee pay: $107,082
13. Gary A. Norcross, Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.
Median employee pay: $44,556
12. Stephen Kaufer, TripAdvisor, Inc.
Median employee pay: $99,643
11. David M. Zaslav, Discovery, Inc.
Median employee pay: $80,858
10. E. Hunter Harrison, CSX Corp.
Median employee pay: $98,697
9. Margaret H. Georgiadis, Mattel, Inc.
Median employee pay: $6,271
8. Brian Duperreault, American International Group, Inc.
Median employee pay: $64,186
7. W. Nicholas Howley, TransDigm Group, Inc.
Median employee pay: $46,742
6. Robert Iger, The Walt Disney Co.
Median employee pay: $46,127
5. Stephen Wynn, Wynn Resorts Ltd.
Median employee pay: $44,437
4. Dirk Van de Put, Mondelez International, Inc.
Median employee pay: $42,893
3. Hock Tan, Broadcom, Inc.
2. Mark V. Hurd/Safra Catz, Oracle Corp.
Median employee pay: $89,887
1. Ronald F. Clarke, Fleetcor Technologies Inc
Median employee pay: $34,700
SEE ALSO: Regular workers now have to work for 167 years to make as much as CEOs do in one