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September 27, 2025 Article/Editing:

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Ranked: The Hourly Wage of Retail CEOs

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Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol earns over $46,000 per hour, or nearly $96 million annually—leading the retail industry.

The lowest-paid retail CEO on the list still makes over $8,500 an hour, far exceeding typical worker wages.

CEO compensation continues to stoke debates around income inequality and corporate responsibility in the U.S.

How much does a retail CEO make per hour? A recent AFL-CIO analysis breaks down executive pay by the hour, assuming a standard 40-hour work week—and the numbers are staggering. The data, visualized by Made Visual Daily, exposes just how wide the wage gap is in the retail sector.

Here’s how much top CEOs in the retail sector earn:

TickerCompanyCEOPay (2024)Hourly

SBUX	Starbucks	Brian Niccol	$95,801,676	$46,058
WMT	Walmart	Doug McMillon	$27,408,854	$13,177
GAP	Gap	Richard Dickson	$19,426,846	$9,340
CMG	Chipotle Mexican Grill	Scott Boatwright	$19,137,518	$9,201
WOOF	Petco	Joel Anderson	$18,258,291	$8,778
MCD	McDonald's	Christopher Kempczinski	$18,195,263	$8,748
CVS	CVS	David Joyner	$17,808,792	$8,562
ANF	Abercrombie & Fitch	Fran Horowitz	$17,036,310	$8,191
ROST	Ross	Barbara Rentler	$16,994,251	$8,170

At a glance, it’s clear that Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol is the outlier—earning a jaw-dropping $46,058 per hour. That’s about 3.5x the hourly rate of the next highest-paid CEO on the list.

CEO Pay vs. Worker Pay

While some level of pay disparity between executives and frontline workers is expected, recent figures are fueling conversations about extreme inequality. According to The Hill, the average S&P 500 CEO made 272 times more than their median employee in 2022. In retail, where many employees earn near-minimum wage, the disparity can be even greater.

Take Doug McMillon of Walmart, who earns $13,177 per hour, or $27.4 million a year. Compare that to the average Walmart associate earning around $15 per hour. That’s a pay gap exceeding 875x.

How Executive Compensation Works

Much of a CEO’s compensation doesn’t come from base salary—it typically includes stock options, performance bonuses, and other incentives that balloon total pay. Critics argue these packages incentivize short-term gains over long-term stability.

Meanwhile, hourly wages for the average American worker have struggled to keep pace with inflation, further amplifying scrutiny over ballooning executive pay.

Corporate Governance and Pay Reform

Pressure is mounting from shareholders and labor groups to better align CEO compensation with company performance and worker welfare. Some companies are experimenting with “stakeholder capitalism,” tying executive bonuses to ESG metrics or employee satisfaction. But such efforts remain the exception rather than the norm.

In an era of heightened awareness around income inequality, data visualizations like this one serve as potent reminders of the systemic challenges facing the American labor economy.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

Want to dive deeper into CEO compensation trends? View the full breakdown in America’s Highest Paid CEOs in 2024 on the Voronoi app.

This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.