Harvard professors make more than CEOs

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, the average full professor at Harvard makes $205,506 a year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (Table 1), the average chief executive makes $180,700 a year. So Harvard professors apparently make $25,000 a year more than CEOs. In fact, according to the Chronicle data, full professors at the top twelve highest-paying colleges all make more than $180,700 a year. Of course, the distribution of CEO pay is likely far more skewed than the distribution of college professor pay, meaning that the highest-paid CEOs earn disproportionately more than the rest. 

According to the Congressional Research Service (Tables 1-2, pp. 9-10), senators and members of the House make $174,000 a year, majority and minority leaders make $193,400 a year, and the Speaker makes $223,000 a year. So CEOs make more than senators and members of the House, but less than majority and minority leaders. And the Speaker makes more than Harvard professors. One caveat is that I do not know whether any or all of the preceding figures include fringe benefits, which could be sizeable––particularly for CEOs. (The description given by the BLS in the Technical Note suggests they may not.)