Been scrolling through some data on CEO pay vs worker pay at major corporations and honestly, the numbers are wild. There's this report from the Institute for Policy Studies that just dropped, and it really puts into perspective how massive the wealth gap has become in corporate America.

So here's what caught my attention: at the 100 S&P 500 companies paying their workers the least, the average CEO-to-worker pay ratio hit 632 to 1 in 2024. That means while your average CEO at these places is pulling in $17.2 million annually, the median worker is getting paid $35,570. Let that sink in.

What's even more striking is how extreme some of these gaps actually are. Take Starbucks - the CEO pay versus worker wages gap there is absolutely insane. The CEO made $95.8 million while median workers earned $14,674. That's a 6,666 to 1 ratio. Six thousand to one. I had to read that twice.

Then you've got Walmart with a 930 to 1 CEO pay vs worker pay ratio, Lowe's at 659 to 1, and Ulta Beauty at 1,130 to 1. Even companies like Home Depot are sitting at 443 to 1. The CEO pay versus worker wages disparity at these retailers is genuinely staggering.

What's interesting is not all gaps are created equal. Amazon's ratio is 43 to 1, and DoorDash is at 8 to 1 - which sounds almost reasonable compared to the others, but it's still a massive difference in compensation.

The whole CEO pay vs worker pay conversation is becoming harder to ignore. These numbers suggest we're looking at a fundamental question about how value is distributed in major corporations. Whether you're looking at it from an economic, social, or investment perspective, the data is pretty hard to dismiss.