CEO vs. median worker pay gap increases to more than 300x higher in top-50 Ohio companies
A new analysis of CEO pay at Ohio’s 50 largest employers shows executives receiving pay hundreds of times higher than typical employees.
After studying the Securities and Exchange Commission filings of Ohio businesses, state think tank Policy Matters Ohio found a median pay 308 times higher for CEOs than other employees in 2023.
“While CEOs enjoy the fruits of their employees’ labor, many workers can hardly afford the basics,” according to Heather Smith, author of the report and researcher for Policy Matters. “This is part of a broader, long-term trend of increasingly dramatic income inequality.”
Of the 50 largest corporate employers in the state, the median CEO pay was $14.9 million, while a mid-range employee was paid $54,857.
The report found 66 percent of those “big 50” companies paid CEOs more than 200 times the wage of an employee at the middle of the pay range at the same company in 2023.
“All but three of the big-50 CEOs were paid more than $5 million last year,” the report stated. “Forty of them were paid more than $10 million, and 15 were paid more than $20 million.”
Worker pay decreased by 0.45 percent for median workers in the companies, while CEO pay increased by nearly 20 percent between 2022 and 2023, according to the Policy Matters analysis.
The 50 companies noted in the report account for nine percent of Ohio’s workforce, or more than 495,000 people.
While the median worker at these top-5o companies saw an increase in pay (up $1,536 from 2022), the CEO pay ratio also increased from the previous year, when CEO pay was 273 times higher than the median wage of other employees at the company, compared to 308 times the wage in 2023.
“This trend aligns with the growing income inequality Ohioans are experiencing,” the report stated.
The highest paid CEO of a corporate company in Ohio was Christopher Winfrey, of Charter Communications, owners of Spectrum. Winfrey’s pay in 2023 was $89 million, which is 1,635 times the median pay for an employee at Charter Communications, according to the report.
A majority of that pay was in “equity awards intended to provide value over a multi-year period,” Smith found in her analysis of his compensation.
“However, even their alternative calculation of Winfrey’s pay for the year 2023 still landed him in the highest paid position at $35,753,917,” the report concluded.
The median pay for CEOs in Ohio landed between Goodyear’s Mark Stewart ($14.7 million) and Abercrombie & Fitch’s Fran Horowitz ($15 million).
“Horowitz was paid 6,076 times more than A&F’s median employee, due mostly to Abercrombie’s high concentration of part-time, seasonal and temporary workers – a majority of whom they report are students seeking flexible, entry-level employment,” the report stated.
The analysis showed wide gaps, but Smith said public policy supporting unions and workforce solidarity could close the gaps and get everyone the money they need to constitute a living wage.
“A legislature that stands with the people will support these efforts with stronger union protections, a better minimum wage and at the very least a requirement for employers to provide pay stubs,” Smith said in a statement announcing the analysis.
Correcting the pay gap requires “intentional changes” to corporate governance and tax law, along with union protections and worker wages, according to the recommendations included in the report.
“Policymakers must take measures to control excessive CEO pay, while supporting Ohioans through better wages, union protections and increased tax revenue from corporations,” the report stated.
Susan Tebben is an award-winning journalist with a decade of experience covering Ohio news, including courts and crime, Appalachian social issues, government, education, diversity and culture. She has worked for The Newark Advocate, The Glasgow (KY) Daily Times, The Athens Messenger, and WOUB Public Media. She has also had work featured on National Public Radio.
Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
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