Editor’s Note: The story has been refreshed with the latest market price action and a revised headline.
Rising Disparity
In a report published on Thursday, the group outlined that Musk’s 2025 pay package was valued at $158 billion, which was “14 times higher than the total compensation of all other S&P 500 company CEOs combined,” the report said.
Musk’s compensation led to the average CEO-to-worker pay ratio across S&P 500 companies growing to 5,387-to-1 in 2025, while excluding him from the mix led to the ratio surging from 285-to-1 to 312-to-1 last year.
The report also pointed to President Donald Trump‘s income, which increased 254% YoY in 2025 as Trump received “$2.2 billion in income in 2025.” The report said that the “median U.S. worker would need to work 43,154 years to earn” Trump’s 2025 compensation, with the median U.S. wage being around $50,000.
Elon Musk’s $824 Billion Payday
The stipulated conditions suggest that the award would then be determined by Tesla’s market value just before the merger/acquisition or the deal price. The line has fueled talks of a possible merger with SpaceX.
Price Action: Tesla shares gained 1.59% to $345.37 during Friday premarket trading.
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