Mary Barra’s compensation soared thanks to GM’s strong stock performance. Her base salary has remained stable at $2.1 million since 2017. Ford boss Jim Farley earned a total of $16.7 million last year. General Motors enjoyed a very fruitful year in 2025, reporting a 6% increase in US sales to 2.83 million vehicles, far beyond the 2.2 million reported by Ford. As the company’s sales rose, so did its stock price, and so did the compensation for GM chief executive Mary Barra. The compensation awarded to the leaders of American car manufacturers has long been controversial, especially as they continue to earn more while the workers who actually build the cars have to make do with small pay increases here and there. Last year, Barra earned more than any other year since she took over the reins at GM in 2014. Read: GM’s Latest Partnership Streamlines EV Ownership And Saves You Money To Boot In 2025, Barra’s compensation soared 61.7% from the previous year to $48.2 million. By comparison, she earned $29.8 million in 2024. The dramatic change in her compensation wasn’t due to a large salary increase. In fact, Barra’s $2.1 million salary has remained the same since 2017. As Shares Rise, So Does Barra’s Compensation The key reason why Barra’s total compensation reached record heights is that gains from stock options and awards roughly doubled in 2024. This was driven by GM’s strong stock performance last year. At the start of 2025, GM’s stock was trading at approximately $51.77, ultimately dropping to below $44 in April, but then rebounding and ending the year at more than $83. What About Ford’s Jim Farley? Jim Farley Things weren’t so pretty at GM’s cross-town rival Ford. Chief executive Jim Farley walked away with $16.7 million in total compensation last year, roughly one-third of what Barra earned. While that’s more than enough to buy a mansion in even the most exclusive of areas in the US, or roughly 417 entry-level Ford F-150s, it was 39.4% less than the $27 million that Farley earned in 2024. Like Barra, Farley’s base salary remained steady at $1.7 million. Of the money Farley earned last year, $8.07 million came from stock award gains and $5.74 million in bonus and incentive plan compensation. The third-best earner among US-based car manufacturers was Rivian’s RJ Scaringe. Reports from earlier this year indicated he walked away with $403 million in total compensation last year, but that’s not actually true. In fact, he earned only $12.3 million, Auto News reports. The $373.5 million announced in stock options for Rivian’s founder in April will only pay out if Rivian’s stock price climbs to at least $40 over the next decade. RJ Scaringe