CEO pay packages reach record level in United States

The gap between executive compensation and that of average workers continues to widen as CEO pay packages rose to record levels in the United States last year, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

The median pay package of top US CEOs jumped to $14.7 million last year－the sixth consecutive record-breaking year for executive compensation, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal released on Sunday. In 2020, the median pay package for CEOs at the same companies was $13.4 million.

Data reviewed from more than 400 US corporations found that total CEO compensation rose by at least 12 percent for most of the executives, and most companies recorded annual shareholder returns of nearly 30 percent.

Nine CEOs made $50 million or more in total compensation last year, up from just one in 2016 and seven in 2020. The median salary, bonus and other cash compensation for chief executives of the biggest US companies were $4.1 million last year. The median cash compensation for the same companies was $3.1 million in 2020.

CEOs made 254 times more than the average worker last year, up 7 percent from the year prior, according to an analysis released last month by Equilar 100.

The widening gap shows the benefits of corporate profits go to the top, while "workers, many of whom are on the front lines of the crisis, have not been reaping the rewards", Sarah Anderson, an executive compensation expert at the progressive think tank Institute for Policy Studies, told CNBC.

Worker pay increased by about 5 percent in the last year to $31.58 an hour, according to US Department of Labor data. And workers' wage growth appears to be slowing down, while everyday costs continue to increase－the consumer price index accelerated 8.3 percent in April, nearly the highest level in more than 40 years.

"While most of America struggles to put gas in the tank and pay the grocery bills, price-gouging, excessive profit-taking CEOs used their captive boards to award themselves record pay," tweeted Jennifer Taub, a professor at Western New England University School of Law, in response to the Journal's analysis.

In a memo seen by The Telegraph, investment bank Goldman Sachs said its senior staff members will be allowed to take as many vacation days as they want.

Junior bankers will still only be entitled to a fixed number of holidays, but will get at least two extra days off each year under the new policy that was introduced at the start of the month.