What Is the Morgan Stanley CEO-to-Worker Pay Ratio?
Morgan Stanley's CEO-to-worker pay ratio is 128:1 — CEO Ted Pick earned $15.4M in 2025, or 128 times the median Morgan Stanley employee's pay of $120,000. That is below the S&P 500 median of roughly 300:1.
This page answers a common executive-compensation question: What Is the Morgan Stanley CEO-to-Worker Pay Ratio?. The answer draws on SEC DEF 14A proxy statements, the public disclosure mechanism for U.S. public-company executive pay. Every public company must file an annual proxy statement disclosing CEO and named-executive-officer compensation in detail. Why this matters for shareholders: executive compensation is the single most-disclosed governance metric at U.S. public companies, and the Dodd-Frank-mandated say-on-pay vote gives shareholders an explicit channel to express approval or dissent. Reading pay data well — including pay-versus-performance, peer-group selection, and time-vesting structures — is a basic part of stock-by-stock fundamental analysis.
The detailed answer below uses the actual proxy-statement filings, explains how to read them, and translates the executive-compensation accounting into the shareholder-relevant interpretation.
Morgan Stanley Pay Ratio Breakdown
- CEO-to-worker ratio
- 128:1
- CEO total comp
- $15.4M
- Median worker pay
- $120,000
- S&P 500 median ratio
- ~300:1
- Employees
- 82,000
- Pay-Performance grade
- A
Source: Morgan Stanley SEC DEF 14A proxy statement (Dodd-Frank §953(b) pay-ratio disclosure). S&P 500 median is an industry benchmark.
Public companies have been required to disclose the ratio of CEO pay to median-employee pay in their proxy statements since 2018, under Section 953(b) of the Dodd-Frank Act. At Morgan Stanley, Ted Pick's $15,408,000 total compensation works out to 128 times the $120,000 earned by the company's median employee — a Investment Banking workforce of roughly 82,000 people.
For context, the typical S&P 500 CEO-to-worker pay ratio runs near 300:1, so Morgan Stanley's 128:1 figure is lower than the large-cap norm. The ratio is driven mostly by equity: Ted Pick received $7,704,000 in stock awards and $1,848,960 in option awards in 2025, versus $1,540,800 in base salary. Median worker pay reflects total cash and benefits for the employee at the 50th percentile of the company's global workforce.
Whether a high ratio is "fair" is contested. Critics argue wide gaps signal misaligned incentives and weak labor bargaining power; defenders argue CEO pay is mostly performance-linked equity that only pays out if shareholders gain. Morgan Stanley's three-year total shareholder return of 29.6% and Pay-for-Performance grade of A (82/100) are the data points to weigh that against.
In the most recent say-on-pay vote, 93.1% of shareholders approved the executive compensation plan. Strong shareholder support signals broad approval of the pay package.
Pay Ratio Inputs
| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total Compensation | $15,408,000 |
| Base Salary | $1,540,800 |
| Stock Awards | $7,704,000 |
| Option Awards | $1,848,960 |
| Median Worker Pay | $120,000 |
| CEO-to-Worker Pay Ratio | 128:1 |
| Pay-Performance Grade | A |
Other Investment Banking CEOs
Frequently Asked Questions
Morgan Stanley's CEO-to-worker pay ratio is 128:1. CEO Ted Pick earns approximately 128 times the median worker's pay of $120,000, as disclosed in the company's SEC DEF 14A proxy statement.
The typical S&P 500 CEO-to-worker pay ratio is around 300:1. Morgan Stanley's 128:1 figure is below that benchmark.
The ratio is driven mainly by equity. Ted Pick received $7,704,000 in stock awards and $1,848,960 in option awards in 2025, against base salary of $1,540,800. The median Morgan Stanley employee earns $120,000.
Ted Pick, CEO of Morgan Stanley, earned $15.4M in total compensation in 2025, including $7.7M in stock awards and $1,540,800 in base salary.
Ted Pick is the chief executive officer of Morgan Stanley (MS).
Our Pay-for-Performance Score rates Morgan Stanley as A (82/100), based on three-year total shareholder return of 29.6%, revenue growth of 14.6%, and shareholder say-on-pay vote approval.
More about Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley's CEO-to-worker pay ratio is 128:1 — CEO Ted Pick earned $15.4M in 2025, or 128 times the median Morgan Stanley employee's pay of $120,000. That is below the S&P 500 median of roughly 300:1.
Source: SEC EDGAR DEF 14A proxy statements, 2026.