Tell Us: How Much is Too Much for a CEO to Make? Switzerland overwhelmingly voted down a measure that would have capped executive pay at 12 times the salary of the lowest-paid employee.
By Catherine Clifford •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Executives of big companies often make more than their employees. But how much more is too much more? Is there such thing as too much for a boss to make?
According to Swiss voters, the answer is no.
Switzerland voted overwhelmingly to overturn a measure which would have capped executive compensation to 12 times what the lowest-paid employee makes.
While such a proposal would likely not even come to a vote in the U.S., it raised a bit of an eyebrow that the measure did not pass in Europe, even if Switzerland does tend to go its own way from the rest of the continent.
For half a year, Switzerland has been embroiled in a tense campaign, led on the labor side by the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland and led on the other by leaders in the business community.
Advocates for the 1:12 measure said that no executive in a company should make in one month what another employee makes in a year. Opponents of the measure said that limiting executive compensation would make Switzerland less competitive for businesses and entrepreneurs.
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So, what do you think? Should there be a limit on what executives on a business team can make? If so, what should the cap be? If not, why not?
Tell us your thoughts below.
