* AFL-CIO data shows average S&P 500 CEO-worker pay ratio

rose to 312:1 excluding Musk

* Including Tesla stock plan, average S&P 500 CEO pay

reached $340.1 million, AFL-CIO study shows

* Welltower ( WELL ) pays CEO Shankh Mitra $821 million and draws 19%

support in say-on-pay vote

By Ross Kerber

Aug 13 (Reuters) - Extraordinary corporate compensation

deals for Elon Musk have opened the door for the CEOs of other

S&P 500 companies to win huge paydays, a new study shows.

Even excluding the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX,

average compensation for chief executives in the S&P 500 soared

21% to $22.8 million in 2025, according to data released on

Thursday by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of

Industrial Organizations. That is the highest amount since the

top U.S. labor federation began tracking the figure in the

1990s.

Driving the gains was an increasing number of mega-pay plans

inspired by Musk's compensation deal at Tesla worth as much as

$1 trillion if he hits all possible targets, labor officials

said. Shareholders of the electric vehicle maker last November

approved a restricted stock plan that the company valued at $158

billion.

Including that figure, average S&P 500 CEO pay reached $340.1

million last year, according to this year's edition of the

AFL-CIO's widely followed Paywatch study. Musk also became the

world's first trillionaire, based on his stake in satellite and

AI company SpaceX.

Musk's pay "changes the dynamic when other CEO compensation

plans come up, boards use it as a reference," Fred Redmond, the

AFL-CIO's secretary-treasurer, said in a telephone interview.

WIDENING PAY GAP FUELS UNION ANGER

Meanwhile, said Redmond, wages of employees are being held back

by the rise of artificial intelligence and a National Labor

Relations Board run by Republicans, who labor leaders view as

hostile to union organizing efforts.

Both factors helped drive the average ratio of CEO-to-worker

pay to 312:1 at S&P 500 companies last year, up from 285:1 in

2024, excluding Musk's Tesla compensation. When Musk's Tesla

compensation is included, last year's average pay ratio between

CEOs and workers reached 5,387 to 1.

"As we talk to our members, they're pissed off over what's

happening to them, and they feel as though they should be more

vocal in terms of calling attention to inequality," Redmond

said. He noted union representation has hit the highest level in

16 years.

Rising CEO pay and inequality connect to broader political

debates on why U.S. workers have trouble affording housing,

healthcare and other necessities. Mean annual wages for all U.S.

workers were $69,770 as of May 2025, up 3% from a year earlier,

according to U.S. Labor Department statistics.

Boardroom compensation committees often argue their pay

plans are linked to shareholder value and incentivize executives

to deliver. They note investors including the largest asset

managers usually back the pay plans at corporate annual

meetings.

Average support for those advisory "say on pay" votes at S&P 500

companies stood at 90.6% through late June, according to

compensation consulting firm Semler Brossy, up from 89.4% for

all of 2025.

HOT-BUTTON VOTES

The trend does not always apply to the proliferation of special

pay awards, however, Semler Brossy found. "These awards, which

are usually intended to be one-offs and exist outside of annual

compensation programs, are a hot-button issue," the firm found.

Among S&P 500 companies disclosing special pay awards, Wall

Street bank Goldman Sachs ( GS ) paid David Solomon $118.9

million last year, including a major retention award. In an

advisory vote, 71% of shares cast backed the pay, below the

average. Asked to comment, Goldman Sachs ( GS ) spokesman Tony Fratto

said, "We're very pleased with the strong supermajority this

vote received."

Also, real estate investment trust Welltower ( WELL ) paid

CEO Shankh Mitra $821 million, meant to include most of his pay

over the coming decade. Only 19% of shares cast supported the

pay.

"Welltower's ( WELL ) board and compensation committee remain

committed to engaging with shareholders to gather their feedback

and understand their perspectives," a spokesperson said. He

added that Mitra would receive the full amount only by hitting

all performance targets.