Board members of the 40 companies in the German DAX index earned an average of 3.909 million euros in 2025, representing a 4 percent increase compared to 2024.
Within these companies, CEOs earned an average of 6.137 million euros, a 6.8 percent increase from the previous year.
The average pay gap between DAX board members and the average employee in their companies.
Individual compensation figures reached significant levels, with SAP CEO Christian Klein receiving approximately 10.9 million euros in 2025. Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing earned approximately 10.5 million euros during the same period.
International comparisons
The average compensation for DAX executives remains below levels observed in other major indices. CEOs of companies in the Euro Stoxx 50, excluding German firms, earned an average of 9.5 million euros in 2025. In the US Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), CEOs of the 30 companies earned an average of 30.5 million euros. Within the DJIA, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon was the highest-paid executive, with total compensation of approximately 105.3 million euros.
Gender pay gap and executive perspectives
In 2025, male DAX board members earned an average of 17.9 percent more than their female counterparts. This figure is based on a single-source measurement and has not been corroborated by independent data or cross-verification.
Eine hohe Vergütung kann angemessen sein – wenn sie Ausdruck außergewöhnlicher Wertschaffung ist
Vorstandsvergütung sollte nachhaltigen Unternehmenserfolg belohnen und nicht kurzfristige Quartalsergebnisse
Tüngler also stated that a 10 million euro threshold for board compensation is still justifiable socially and within companies, as he originally phrased it: 'gesellschaftlich und auch innerhalb der Unternehmen noch vertretbar'.
