General Motors CEO Mary Barra was reported to have received $48.2 million in realized compensation for 2025, compared with $16.7 million for Ford CEO Jim Farley—about 2.9 times as much. Those figures, attributed to the Automotive News/Equilar CEO Compensation Survey in 2026 coverage, are not the totals shown in the companies’ proxy statements. GM’s proxy reports $29.9 million for Barra, while Ford’s reports $27.5 million for Farley.
What the nearly $50 million figure measures
The $48.2 million figure is a reported measure of Barra’s realized compensation for 2025, attributed by Carscoops and EV.com to the Automotive News/Equilar CEO Compensation Survey. Carscoops reports Farley’s comparable realized-compensation figure as $16.7 million. On that basis, Barra’s reported amount is roughly 2.9 times Farley’s.
The original survey table and its detailed calculation were not directly available for verification. The figures should therefore be described as reported survey figures, not as the companies’ SEC-reported compensation totals.
Why the proxy statements show different totals
GM and Ford disclose compensation in their 2026 proxy statements using Summary Compensation Tables. For 2025, GM lists $29,895,868 for Barra, while Ford lists $27,519,558 for Farley. The stock-award amounts in those tables use grant-date fair value, an accounting measure recorded when awards are granted; it is not necessarily what the executive ultimately realizes from the awards.
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| 2025 compensation measure | Mary Barra, GM | Jim Farley, Ford |
|---|---|---|
| Reported realized compensation attributed to Automotive News/Equilar | $48.2 million, reported by Carscoops and EV.com | $16.7 million, reported by Carscoops |
| Company proxy Summary Compensation Table | $29,895,868, GM 2026 proxy statement | $27,519,558, Ford 2026 proxy statement |
The gap is not, by itself, evidence that one figure is wrong. The amounts use different approaches to valuing equity compensation. The Associated Press’ explanation of its separate Equilar-based survey notes that grant-date award values can differ widely from awards’ actual future value.
What the companies’ proxy totals include
The Summary Compensation Tables break the totals into salary, stock awards, non-equity incentive compensation and all other compensation. Stock awards are the largest listed component for both CEOs.
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| 2025 proxy-table component | Mary Barra, GM | Jim Farley, Ford |
|---|---|---|
| Salary | $2,100,000 | $1,700,000 |
| Stock awards | $21,623,970 | $18,868,309 |
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| Proxy-table total | $29,895,868 | $27,519,558 |
These are the totals in each company’s 2026 proxy statement for the 2025 reporting year. They should not be substituted for the separate realized-pay comparison, or vice versa.
How to read the “three times Ford’s CEO” claim
The claim compares reported realized compensation: $48.2 million for Barra against $16.7 million for Farley. It does not describe the ratio between their proxy-table totals. In those tables, Barra’s $29.9 million is only modestly higher than Farley’s $27.5 million.
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For broader context, the Associated Press/Equilar survey reported median 2025 CEO compensation of $17.7 million among 337 executives at S&P 500 companies, and median employee pay of $89,744 at companies in that survey. That is a separate survey cohort and measure, so it is context rather than a direct like-for-like benchmark for either automaker’s realized-pay figure.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the compensation measure matters
Equilar research director Courtney Yu, quoted by EV.com describing the survey’s approach, characterized realized compensation as “the actual value that the executives are getting.” That wording captures the distinction: a grant-date stock-award value is an accounting value at the time of grant, while realized value reflects what an executive receives when awards vest or are otherwise converted under the applicable terms. The measures answer different questions, so any comparison should identify which one it uses.
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