COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new report from Policy Matters Ohio has laid bare the glaring income disparities between CEOs and workers among Ohio’s largest publicly traded companies. In 2023, the median CEO pay surged to $14.9 million, equating to 308 times the median worker’s annual pay of $54,857—a significant increase from the previous year’s ratio of 273-to-1.

While CEO compensation rose nearly 20%, workers saw their inflation-adjusted wages drop by 0.45%, a loss of purchasing power equivalent to $251—roughly the cost of a month’s utility bill in Columbus. This growing divide reflects a system where wealth flows disproportionately to the top, leaving the workers who generate value struggling to make ends meet.

The Data Behind the Disparity

Policy Matters Ohio analyzed the pay structures of 50 of the state’s largest publicly traded companies, which collectively employ nearly 10% of Ohio’s workforce. Key findings include:

  • Charter Communications: CEO Christopher Winfrey earned $89 million in 2023, 1,635 times more than the company’s median worker.
  • Abercrombie & Fitch: CEO Fran Horowitz was paid 6,076 times the median worker, who earned just $2,475 annually in part-time seasonal work—below Ohio’s minimum wage.

Nine of these employers paid median wages below $15 per hour, a level that qualifies many full-time employees for public assistance programs like food stamps and Medicaid.

Historical Context and Policy Failures

The report traced the roots of these inequities back to Reagan-era tax cuts and deregulation, which shifted economic power toward corporate elites. The disparity has grown as corporations have increasingly rewarded executives with stock buybacks and equity compensation, inflating CEO earnings without benefiting workers.

In 1978, the national CEO-to-worker pay ratio was 31-to-1. Today, it stands at 308-to-1 in Ohio’s largest companies, reflecting decades of policies that have favored the wealthy at the expense of working people.

Proposed Reforms

To address this imbalance, Policy Matters Ohio recommends:

  1. Tax Penalties for Extreme Pay Ratios: Cities like Portland, OR, and San Francisco, CA, have implemented taxes on companies with outsized pay gaps. Similar measures in Ohio could generate millions in revenue for public programs.
  2. Elimination of Stock Buybacks: Once illegal, stock buybacks now serve as a tool for executives to inflate share prices and their own compensation. Prohibiting this practice would ensure profits are reinvested in workers and communities.
  3. A Livable Minimum Wage: Raising Ohio’s minimum wage to $15 per hour, as proposed in pending state legislation, would provide much-needed relief to hundreds of thousands of workers.
  4. Strengthened Union Protections: Expanding union rights would empower workers to negotiate fair wages and improve workplace conditions, countering corporate power.

A Call for Economic Justice

The findings underscore the urgent need for systemic change. Ohio’s economy, like much of the nation’s, prioritizes shareholder profits and executive wealth over the well-being of the workers who sustain it. Adopting these reforms would represent a step toward a more equitable system where prosperity is shared by all, not hoarded by a few at the top.

For more information, visit Policy Matters Ohio.