Dan Price, the CEO of Gravity Payments, a Seattle-based credit card payment processing firm, has raised the minimum yearly salary for every employee at his company to $70,000. It seems there are still a few rich folks out there willing to set revenues and earnings aside, even just a little, to help their employees.
Price, who launched his company in 2004 at the age of 19 and now earns a cool $1 million a year, decided he wanted to give back to his employees. His 120-member staff, including customer service reps, salespersons and low-level clerks can all expect a nice increase in their salaries.
Price is even doing so at his own expense. He’s reduced his own salary and is dipping into company profits over the next few years to make this happen. He’s willing to do it because he knows the impact it will undoubtedly have on his employees. Currently, the average Gravity employee earns $45,000 a year.
Gravity is proof that there are still a few good folks out there willing to help us chumps who struggle to make ends meet. It’s estimated that by 2016, the richest 1% will control over 50% of the world’s wealth. Proof enough that the wealth gap is only increasing.
While we’re less than hopeful that other companies and CEO’s will follow suit, this good deed sheds a great deal of light on wage inequalities that continue to persist.
