He pins many of society's problems on “CEOs who have been asleep at the wheel.”
SAN FRANCISCO — Salesforce CRM, +0.70% founder Marc Benioff oversees a $130 billion software empire from a 62-story skyscraper that towers above everything else in San Francisco. But he sits uneasily in his lofty perch because of a worsening economic divide on the streets down below, where the lavish pay doled out to tech workers like his are pricing many people out of affordable housing.
Critics contend that’s a bad idea, particularly as CEOs become ever more isolated economically from the rest of society. Even at a booming tech company such as Salesforce, a worker making the average annual income of $152,000 would need nearly two centuries to match Benioff’s $28.4 million pay package last year.
Salesforce’s niche is making software that manages customer relationships for businesses and government agencies. Consequently, the company is insulated from the intense scrutiny facing the likes of Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple over addictive products that peer into people’s lives while promoting lies, prejudice and violence.“Marc’s heart leads his head,” said California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who befriended Benioff about 15 years ago while Newsom was San Francisco’s mayor.
He credits his father, Russell, who owned a chain of dress shops, for teaching him about the value of hard work. He credits his maternal grandfather, Marvin Lewis, who served on San Francisco’s board of supervisors, for teaching him about civic service. As a successful lawyer, Lewis was wealthy enough to pass out $20 bills to needy strangers.
It wasn’t until 2015, though, that Benioff stepped beyond philanthropy into social activism. He led a charge against then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence over a law that allowed businesses to cite religion as a legal defense against LGBT discrimination claims. As other companies and groups joined Benioff’s threats to curb operations and travel in the state, Pence and Indiana’s legislature softened the law.
And last year, he feuded publicly with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey over a payroll tax on San Francisco companies to raise money for homeless programs. Benioff campaigned for the tax, even though Salesforce is San Francisco’s biggest employer. Dorsey opposed it, along with San Francisco Mayor London Breed.Besides seeking higher taxes, Benioff recently decided to stop selling its software to retailers that sell military-style rifles in their stores.
Yet there are signs that the job of CEOs is extending beyond its traditional focus on increasing corporate profits and stock prices.
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