The American Monarchy: Corporations and Their CEOs

The C-Suite: America’s Modern Royalty

America was born from a fight against kings. Colonists wanted freedom from a system where one man made all the decisions and everyone else had to live with the consequences. That fight gave us a democracy— you know…all men are created equal.

But today, a new kind of monarchy has taken hold. It doesn’t wear robes or sit on thrones. It wears suits and holds board meetings. We call them CEOs.

These corporate leaders have become some of the most powerful people in the country. They influence what we buy, how we work, who gets hired, and even who gets elected (see Elon Musk). And like the kings we once rebelled against, they often make decisions that affect millions—with little to no input from the people those decisions impact most.

We got rid of one crown. But in many ways, we’ve replaced it with another.

Their rise is often justified by claims that they create jobs and drive economic growth, but in reality, they have amassed unchecked power through tax incentives, deregulation, and political influence. As regulations weakened and monopolies formed, corporate executives placed themselves at the pinnacle of American society, making decisions that impact millions with little accountability.

The Economy: Corporate Rule and Its Consequences

CEOs have the power to lay off thousands of workers after a single disappointing quarter, affecting families, communities, and entire industries. They dictate wages, determine job stability, and often prioritize stock buybacks over employee well-being.

In my own experience, I once worked at a mid-luxury clothing store where we charged $148 for a single shirt. Customers expected an upscale shopping experience, yet the back of house was so run-down—no cleaning service, no repairs, just pure neglect because the company didn’t see these things are a necessity to the running of the business. While employees could use the store’s bathroom, we were too embarrassed to allow customers to use it because of its poor condition. The company obsessed over maximizing sales but refused to invest in the most basic necessities for its workers. This stark contrast between premium prices and poor employee treatment is a common corporate strategy: squeeze the workers and overcharge the customers, all while boosting executive compensation.

When companies prioritize short-term profits over long-term sustainability, workers suffer first. Meanwhile, shareholders reap the rewards, and executives walk away with multi-million-dollar compensation packages.

The Political Landscape: The Citizens United Era

The 2010 Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election

Commission overturned century-old campaign finance restrictions, allowing corporations and outside groups to spend unlimited amounts on elections. While wealthy donors and businesses have always influenced politics, Citizens United turned money into speech, giving corporations an outsized voice in choosing our leaders.

Take Elon Musk, for example. Reports suggest he spent around a quarter of a billion dollars to help elect Donald Trump, and his investment is already paying off. With little to no oversight from Congress, the government is being dismantled one agency at a time, rewarding corporate interests at the expense of everyday people.

Corporations now have the power to outspend actual citizens in elections, further entrenching a system where the wealthy few dictate policies that impact the many.

Societal Norms: The Corporate Influence on Culture

CEOs don’t just shape the economy and politics—they dictate cultural norms as well. Their influence over media, consumer trends, and workplace expectations has reinforced ideas like hustle culture, job insecurity, and the glorification of wealth.

One key battleground is Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). After the racial reckoning of 2020, corporations made bold commitments to address hiring disparities, pay gaps, and workplace culture. But in recent years, DEI initiatives have been quietly rolled back. Budgets were cut, roles were eliminated, and priorities shifted. Some CEOs cite “business needs,” while others cave to political pressure—exposing how performative many of these commitments were in the first place.

Still, some companies recognize that DEI benefits innovation, retention, and overall performance. The growing divide in corporate approaches to DEI highlights just how much unchecked power CEOs have in shaping societal values, often without accountability.

The Evolution of the American CEO: From Leader to Monarch

The pay disparity between CEOs and workers has widened dramatically. In 1950, a CEO earned about 20 times the salary of the average worker. By 1985, that number had risen to 48-to-1. By 2021? A staggering 399-to-1, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

As I consider that number—399 times the salary of the average employee—I wonder if CEOs wake up each morning to Alexa saying, “Good morning, King.”

This shift reflects how CEOs have transformed from business leaders into wealth maximizers. Where executives once focused on long-term growth, they now prioritize stock prices—often at the expense of employees.

A Portrait of the CEO – The Return of the King: Bob Iger

Few CEOs embody the shift from visionary leader to corporate monarch quite like Bob Iger.

During his first tenure at Disney, Iger was widely respected for expanding the company’s empire through acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox. Employees and the public admired his strategic vision.

However, his second tenure has been marked by a starkly different reality. In 2023, as Hollywood writers and actors went on strike demanding fair wages and AI protections, Iger dismissed their concerns as “unrealistic”—despite Disney’s soaring profits and his own $27 million salary.

Under his leadership, Disney slashed jobs and cut creative budgets, prioritizing profits over people. Once celebrated for fostering innovation, Iger now symbolizes the modern CEO: a corporate monarch more concerned with stockholders than stakeholders.

The Pursuit of Shareholder Wealth: At What Cost?

Modern CEOs have one primary goal: maximizing shareholder value. Unlike traditional monarchs who were at least theoretically responsible for their subjects, today’s executives care almost exclusively about financial performance.

I’ve always found it curious that we obsess over stock market performance when the majority of Americans hold only about 1% of stock market wealth. The wealthiest 10% own nearly all of it. So when CEOs make decisions that prioritize shareholder returns, they are simply making the rich richer—usually at the expense of workers' pay, benefits, morale, and sometimes their jobs.

Life in Quarters

Corporations operate in quarterly cycles, a legacy of Jack Welch’s tenure at General Electric. If a company has a bad quarter, the simplest solution is to cut costs. And the easiest way to do that? Lay off workers.

Take UPS, which announced mass layoffs in early 2024 despite strong profits. The company wasn’t struggling—it was “optimizing” earnings by reducing its workforce. Employees have become disposable, their contributions disregarded once they are no longer deemed “cost-effective.”

Cutting Corners at Any Cost

Cost-cutting can also have deadly consequences. In 2022, Abbott Nutrition failed to maintain sanitary conditions at its baby formula production facilities, leading to contaminated formula and a nationwide shortage. This was not an accident—it was the direct result of corporate decisions that prioritized profits over safety.

The Path Forward: CEOs Must Be Leaders, Not Monarchs

Corporate CEOs have an obligation to shareholders, but that cannot be their sole focus. Businesses exist to make money, but when profits consistently come before people, the consequences are devastating—for workers, consumers, and even the companies themselves.

Corporate America must return to a model where success is measured not just in stock prices but in how companies treat their employees, customers, and society as a whole. If today’s CEOs want to be remembered as leaders rather than just kings of industry, they must prioritize long-term stability over short-term greed.

The unchecked power of corporate monarchs must be reined in—before the divide between CEOs and everyday workers becomes impossible to bridge.