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CEO vs. worker pay: Walmart, McDonald’s, and eight other firms with biggest gaps

These 10 companies have some of the highest-paid CEOs in the US and huge gulfs between CEO and average worker compensation, according to a study from NerdWallet. Can you guess which company has the biggest pay gap? 

2. Starbucks

BusinessWire/File
Starbucks chairman, president, and CEO Howard Schultz demonstrates a Starbucks product in Tokyo.

CEO: Howard Schultz

Average hourly worker wage: $8.79

CEO hourly compensation: $9,637 (1,096 times the average worker wage)

Overtime to CEO pay: 3.49 months

Starbucks pays both its CEO and its workers above the sample median, and it provides healthcare coverage to part-time employees who work 20 hours or more – a rarity. But the coffee chain isn’t entirely without worker issues. In May, the company paid $3 million to settle a class-action lawsuit from baristas who alleged they were not being paid overtime properly.

Mr. Schultz is the highest-paid CEO on the list and a former owner of the NBA’s Seattle Supersonics. 

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