The numbers came in. Median CEO pay hit $29.4 million in 2025 — up 23.2% in a single year. Your salary increase was “held steady” at 3.5%. The CEO pay ratio is now 341:1. Last year it was 300:1. They’re moving faster than inflation, just in the wrong direction.
This was the same year that Meta cut 700 workers after paying its executives $921 million. The same year Disney, SNAP, and Cleveland Cliffs announced mass layoffs. The board rooms were handing out bonuses at target while HR was firing off termination emails. Nobody called an emergency shareholder meeting about that math.
3.5% for workers. 23.2% for the top. That’s the system working exactly as designed. Just not for you.