United CEO’s 334-to-1 Pay Ratio Frames Wealth Tax Push as Industry Faces Scrutiny

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby’s call for a national wealth tax and near-total inheritance taxes has thrust the carrier’s executive compensation structure into the spotlight, revealing a 334-to-1 pay ratio that outpaces most major U.S. corporations.

The disparity comes as Kirby earned $32.3 million in fiscal 2025 — including salary, stock awards and performance incentives — while the airline’s median employee compensation stood at $96,670, according to United’s 2026 proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Kirby told The New York Times that growing wealth inequality poses a “danger” to American society. “We should have a national wealth tax — it won’t work by state because people will just move,” he said. “And I think we should have inheritance taxes that get close to 100 percent at some level. I would pay them.”

The comments from a CEO in a heavily regulated industry that received $54 billion in federal pandemic aid have drawn scrutiny from across the political spectrum. Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, posted on X about United’s in-flight WiFi failures, adding to a wave of criticism linking Kirby’s policy advocacy to the airline’s service record.

United’s pay ratio exceeds those at Delta Air Lines and American Airlines, where 2024 CEO-to-median-worker ratios were 287-to-1 and 265-to-1 respectively, according to their proxy filings. The S&P 500 median ratio in 2024 was 196-to-1, per AFL-CIO analysis of company disclosures.

Airline industry compensation experts note that CEO pay packages surged after the 2020 bailouts, which prohibited stock buybacks and executive pay raises only until September 2022. Kirby’s 2025 package represents a 42% increase from his $22.7 million in 2023, the proxy shows.

The wealth tax proposal Kirby endorsed — an annual levy on net assets above a threshold — has been championed by Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders but never advanced in Congress. A 100% inheritance tax would effectively abolish dynastic wealth transfer, a policy without modern precedent in major economies.

Kirby also defended United’s dynamic pricing for seat selection during the interview. “There are some customers who want to sit in a window seat or a better seat, and that costs money to deliver,” he said. The airline generated $2.3 billion in ancillary revenue from seat assignments, baggage fees and premium services in the first nine months of 2024, up 18% year over year.

Social media users responded to Kirby’s remarks by highlighting domestic route pricing. One poster cited a $500 fare for a two-hour flight, while others questioned the airline’s operational reliability amid ongoing air traffic control staffing shortages affecting the Northeast corridor.

The controversy arrives as the Transportation Department finalizes rules requiring airlines to disclose all fees upfront and as Congress debates Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization legislation that could address consumer protections and air traffic control funding.