Companies are spending more on executive perks such as luxury relocations and private jets, underscoring a widening divide between the rewards offered to corporate leaders and the more modest pay gains available to much of the workforce.
Data from relocation services firm CapRelo shows the average cost of relocating a C-suite executive more than doubled between 2021 and 2025, rising to as much as $187,000 per move among its Fortune 500 and mid-market clients. By contrast, relocation costs for staff stayed largely flat at between $21,000 and $25,000 in the same period.
Firms catering to elite workers, notably senior executives and employees with artificial intelligence expertise, have seen a clear pickup.
Compass Inc.’s relocation arm Cartus Corp. recently launched a white-glove offering called Cartus Concierge after seeing a “significant increase” in demand for high-touch relocations since 2022, Cartus Chief Executive Officer Matthew Tebbe said in an interview. Services include handling home sales, arranging rentals and transporting art, wine, jewelry collections and pets.
“There is a huge push to attract the best AI talent and to hold on to [that] talent,” said relocation firm Sirva Worldwide, Inc. Chief Executive Officer Carlyn Taylor. Rich relocation packages can help persuade recruits to move.
For lower-level employees, relocation support is becoming more limited. Companies are increasingly offering lump-sum payments or hiring locally to reduce costs, relocation executives said.
Flying Private
Spending on executive travel has picked up. More than half of S&P 500 executives and their families use corporate jets for personal travel, with companies covering fuel, maintenance, crew and hangar costs. The median value of the perk jumped more than 40% from 2021 to almost $210,000 in 2025, data from executive data firm Equilar shows.
Security costs have also surged following the murder of UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive Brian Thompson. In 2025, more than a third of S&P 500 executives received security perks, with the median value more than doubling to $130,000 since 2021, according to Equilar data.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 CEO-to-worker pay ratio reached 200-to-1 last year, the highest since Equilar began tracking pay disparity in 2018.
The contrast comes as layoffs, hiring freezes and benefit cuts spread across industries from technology to finance. Zoom Communications Inc. and Deloitte LLP both reduced paid parental leave. Signing bonuses are also falling, with about 20% of new hires receiving them in the past six months, down from 28% a year ago, according to ZipRecruiter Inc. data.
Squeezed Consumers
At the same time, financial strain is becoming more visible for people. “Affordability” was mentioned on Russell 3000 earnings calls more than ever in the first quarter, and executives have warned about anxious and broke consumers.
S&P 500 CEOs saw their median pay rise 5.9% in 2025, Equilar data showed. Their companies’ earnings outpaced that with a 13% gain, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence. That’s putting pressure on companies to compete for top talent through pay, Florian Ederer, a professor at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, said, referencing academic theories behind soaring executive pay.
The widening gap between executive rewards and worker pay may eventually create risks for employers. Mercer, a Marsh & McLennan Cos. unit, found that seven in 10 workers said inflation and market volatility were increasing their financial stress, based on a survey of 4,500 US employees conducted between September and October 2025.
Workers’ money worries can come back to bite. “When workers struggle to cover monthly expenses amid inflation and market volatility, and are very worried about job security, they may be less focused on supporting the organization,” said Adam Pressman, Mercer’s employee research and engagement leader.
Phua writes for Bloomberg.
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