The typical CEO of an organization included within the S&P 500 makes 268 occasions greater than their median worker, a determine that outrages many. Cruise line CEOs blow this quantity out of the water.
The highest cruise line CEOs are paid a minimal of a number of hundred to properly greater than 1,000 occasions greater than a median ship worker. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ (NCLH) Harry Sommer makes 380 occasions greater than the median NCLH crew member, Royal Caribbean’s Jason Liberty collects 953 occasions greater than the median RCCL crew member, and Carnival Corporation’s Josh Weinstein brings house a staggering 1,398 occasions greater than the median Carnival worker.
Main the CEO pay discrepancy is Carnival Corporation’s CEO Weinstein who made $23,566,603 (million)in 2024 in comparison with the median worker wage of a Carnival crew member of simply $16,854. Royal Caribbean CEO Jason Liberty is next making $17,216,276 (million) in 2023 in comparison with a median RCCL crew member of $18,073. On the “low” finish of the trio, Norwegian Cruise Line Holding’s CEO Sommer made $8,864,592 (million) in 2023 in comparison with the median NCL crew member worker wage of $23,330.
There is no such thing as a attainable justification to such an absurdly excessive CEO – median crew compensation ratio. Highlighting this discrepancy, Carnival’s Weinstein hourly wage comes out to $11,800 that means he makes the common Carnival crew member annual wage in lower than an hour and a half.
Cruise line CEOs additionally obtain a full vary of perks akin to luxurious vehicle allowances which frequently exceed the whole compensation of a typical crew member. For instance, whereas the Del Rio father and son (Del Rio Jr.) workforce had been the CEO and president of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Oceania Cruises, respectively, they collected over $45,000 a yr in luxurious automobile allowances. Del Rio Sr. additionally obtained $100,000 in a travel expense allowance, tax preparation service and a $20,000 country club allowance in 2023 when he retired on June thirtieth. In 2023, he nonetheless obtained $12,372,976 in compensation, bonuses, and “different compensation,” together with $2,000,000 for consulting plus objects akin to a automobile allowance and govt medical insurance coverage. Former CEO of Movie star Cruises Lisa Lutoff-Perlo obtained an exorbitant luxurious automobile allowance of $52,747 along with her compensation of $9,700,000 in 2023.
Proponents of upper cruise govt pay may argue that crew members’ salaries should not precisely captured within the median numbers as they’re normally employed 8-9 months out of the yr, and are offered “free” meals and room and board.
This argument is nonsense. Crew members work a minimal of 12 hours of bodily demanding work a day, 7 days per week, for months at a time, residing in shut quarters beneath deck. Crew members within the final 20 years have misplaced most of the maritime rights they beforehand had when U.S. maritime regulation utilized to jury trials in U.S. courts after they had been injured as of a results of their lengthy hours of labor. Crew members are actually required to pursue worldwide arbitration in feckless nations like Panama and the Bahamas the place a single arbitrator paid by the cruise line will apply the regulation of those non-U.S. nations.
The greediest cruise CEO within the final decade, by far, has been Frank Del Rio, Sr., who took house over 67,000,000 in two years alone.
I’ve written extensively over time about how cruise CEO’ accumulate obscene quantities of cash whereas laborious working crew members work extraordinarily laborious to make a residing with few advantages and no retirement, pension-profit or 401k advantages in any respect. A few of my prior articles embody:
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Picture credit score: Cruise ship crusing on sea of cash – AARP; Harry Sommer – NCLH ; Jason Liberty – Royal Caribbean Group; Josh Weistein – Tradewinds.
