The CNMV confirms that an executive director of a listed Spanish company earned an average of €2.4 million in 2025, 97 times the average salary. The remuneration of senior executives grew by 26.3%, compared to 3.4% for the average salary.
The gap between what a senior executive of a listed Spanish company earns and what an average worker makes widened in 2025. According to data collected by the CNMV, an executive director received an average remuneration of €2.4 million per year, while the average salary in Spain was around €24,600. The difference amounts to nearly 97 years of work at an average salary to match what that executive earns in a single year, as reported by fuentesinformadas.com.
The distance increases in the Ibex 35. The executive presidents of the largest listed companies earned an average of €8.87 million, while the chief executive officers reached €4.58 million. The executive directors of the index received €4.82 million on average, which is 67 times the average salary of their employees.
The CNMV report also reflects that the remuneration of top executives grew well above that of the overall workforce. The average salary rose by 3.4% in 2025, while the remuneration of executive directors increased by 26.3%. The average remuneration of boards of directors reached €5.4 million, although the supervisor warns that an extraordinary compensation of €78 million paid by Telefónica partially distorts this increase.
In terms of gender, female executive directors earned on average 1.9% less than their male counterparts. Outside the Ibex, the gender pay gap among executives rises to 48.6%. The CNMV clarifies that the small number of women in executive positions limits the representativeness of these figures.
The presence of women in governing bodies continues to advance. Women now hold 37% of positions on the boards of directors of listed Spanish companies, a percentage that rises to 42% in the Ibex 35. However, they represent only 25% of senior management positions and their presence is lower in areas such as strategy, finance, and business.
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