IMO the reason is still stock-based compensation. Companies are run lean these days, and it's simply inefficient to reserve a pile of cash for paying people vs.

IMO the reason is still stock-based compensation. Companies are run lean these days, and it's simply inefficient to reserve a pile of cash for paying people vs. using it for business purposes. Why do that when you can pay with stock? But at the same time you (as an exec) want to maintain control of the company. So you only give it to people who aren't going to just turn around and sell it on the public market. This excludes all of your low-level workers, who have bills to pay. There are a bunch of business realities that get in the way if you want to pay a huge cash salary. For example, you may be a recently IPO-ed tech unicorn who doesn't actually make money, and the investors aren't too keen on the CEO paying themselves with their cash. But take all your comp in stock and all of a sudden you're a selfless hero aligned with business success.