A CEO is worth 62 presidents

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Sure, corporate profits and stock prices boomed in the 90s, but the real growth story was in CEO salaries. Your average corporate exec’s paycheck swelled by 535 percent in the last 10 years — more than four times the growth rate of profits of the companies they run, according to a new study from UNITED FOR A FAIR ECONOMY.

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8/26 – Black rhinos buy the farm That unhappy portion of the citizenry that doesn’t hold keys to executive washrooms, of course, made out considerably worse. The average workers’ pay rose only 32 percent in the 90s. If salaries for normal folks had risen at the same rate as those of CEOs, production workers would be pulling in $114,035 a year, and the minimum wage would be $24.13 an hour. But at least ordinary-wage slaves aren’t the only ones being left in the dust: CEOs today also make 62 times the salary of the President of the United States.

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And the essential ingredient that makes all this possible? Readers like you.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to devote the time and resources to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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