CEO Pay Tops $10-Million Mark

CEO pay had long since crossed the six and the seven-figure thresholds, but now it’s all about eight figures.

Median CEO pay hit a record high of $10.5 million in 2013, an 8.8% rise over 2012, according to a new joint study by the Associated Press and Equilar, an executive pay research firm. Compensation packages, buoyed by soaring stock prices, reaped the gains from the market. CEO pay continued its fourth consecutive year of gains since the recession.

The typical CEO now makes 257 times the salary of an average worker, the AP reports. In 2009, CEOs made an average of 181 times as much. More than two-thirds of CEOs in the S&P 500 received a pay raise, with the heads of banks receiving the biggest hikes, averaging 22%.

The highest-paid CEO, with a total payout of $68.3 million, was Anthony Petrello of Nabors Industries, an oil and gas drilling company.

[AP]