April 15, 2015

CEO cuts own salary to raise company's minimum wage to $70,000

By Christina LoBrutto
PhillyVoice Contributor

A Seattle-based CEO may have claimed the title of "World's Best Boss."

Dan Price, founder of Gravity Payments, announced to his 120-person staff on Monday that he plans to raise the minimum wage for every employee to $70,000 over the next three years, The New York Times reports.

To do so, Price, who started the credit-card payment processing firm in 2004 at the age of 19, will cut his own salary from nearly $1 million to $70,000. He also plans to use 75 to 80 percent of the company’s anticipated $2.2 million in profit this year to cover the wage increase.

The average salary at Gravity is currently $48,000 a year. About 70 employees will see a wage increase, with 30 of them doubling their salaries.

Price decided to make the change after reading an article on happiness that showed that extra money can make a significant difference for people who earn less than about $70,000.

"The market rate for me as a C.E.O. compared to a regular person is ridiculous, it’s absurd," Price told The New York Times.

Not surprisingly, the CEO's move sparked a lot of chatter and praise on social media.