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Dr. Bronner's estimates that a bottle of its soap is sold every two seconds – but the 150-year-old family business stands for more than just the products it puts on its shelves.
A social media post from Dr. Bronner's last week revealed an internal aspect of its business: The soap maker caps the pay of its highest-paid executives at five times the salary of the lowest-paid, fully-tenured employee. (Fully-tenured means someone works full-time and has been with the company for at least five years.)
“An ethical company should pay a fair wage and good benefits and allow people to make ends meet on their wages,” said CEO David Bronner, adding, “We really try to be an example of how to be reasonable.”
Dr. Bronner's 2023 earnings report shows that the company generated over $170 million in revenue in 2022, with 86.7% of its revenue coming from the U.S. The soap maker employed a total of 311 people in the U.S., and about 73% of its executives were promoted internally.
According to the report, Dr. Bronner's starting salary for regular, non-temporary employees in 2022 was $24.85 per hour, while wages for temporary employees started at $21.30 per hour.
If a full-time worker kept their 2022 starting salary for five years and worked a 40-hour week, they would earn $47,712 per year.
According to Entrepreneur's calculations, Dr. Bronner's top salary would be $238,560.
Related topics: Why most CEOs won't take pay cuts to avoid layoffs
According to a study published in June by the Associated Press, the average CEO salary last year was about $1.3 million — more than five times the estimated salary of Dr. Bronner's highest-paid employee.
The study examined the salaries of CEOs of S&P 500 companies and found that in half of the companies, “it would take a mid-level worker nearly 200 years to earn the same salary as their CEO.”
The median compensation package for CEOs, which includes salary, bonuses and stock awards, totaled $16.3 million.
Related: These CEOs have the biggest pay packages in the US, according to a new report
In addition to the salary cap, Dr. Bronner's covers child care costs up to $7,500 per family, offers a no-deductible health insurance plan, and provides its employees with an organic, vegan meal daily.
Anything the company has left over goes to charities and other causes. Bronner said in the Instagram video that he lives a “great” life and feels “enriched” by the upbeat atmosphere in the office.
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