Categories: People

CEO Who Took $1 Million Pay Cut So He Can Pay Employees $70,000 Each, Says Business Has Tripled Since

The bold move resulted to happier employees who worked harder than ever - which later led to greater growth for the company.

In 2015, Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price voluntarily took a $1 million slash from his earnings.
He made the bold move in order to afford giving all his employees a minimum annual salary of $70,000.
It resulted to happier employees and business has tripled since.

Is this guy the best boss ever or what? Quite understandably, Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price is so well-loved by his employees.

As you have read on the headline, this generous man took a massive pay cut worth $1 million for the purpose of increasing his workers salary. Now his employees are earning a minimum of $70,000 per year.

He had his critics but he bravely went ahead to share his fortune with his workers.

Price made the big decision back in April 2015 and looking back now, it has proven to be a wise decision as his employees are experiencing better quality of lives plus his company has since increased three-fold.

As Price posted on Twitter:

“When I started a $70k minimum wage for my company in 2015 Rush Limbaugh [a US political commentator] said: ‘I hope this company is a case study in MBA programs on how socialism does not work, because it’s gonna fail’.

“Since then our company tripled and we’re a successful case study at Harvard Business School,” he added.

It’s been a win-win situation for the credit card processing company and all its employees.

According to Price, the salary helped increase the number of home owners among his employees by 10 times. Moreover, 70% of them eventually managed to pay off their debts while 76%. Workplace productivity likewise boosted.

Sales Director Rosita Barlow pointed out:

“When money is not at the forefront of your mind when you’re doing your job, it allows you to be more passionate about what motivates you.
“You’re not thinking I have to go to work because I have to make money. Now it’s become focused on ‘How do I do good work?'”

It also resulted to more babies being born!

In a BBC interview, Price shared:

“There was a little bit of concern amongst pontificators out there that people would squander any gains that they would have. And we’ve really seen the opposite.
“Before the $70,000 minimum wage, we were having between zero and two babies born per year amongst the team.
“And since the announcement – and it’s been only about four and a half years – we’ve had more than 40 babies.”