CEOs under 50 are a rare find at America's largest companies

Ayla Ellison -

Most S&P 500 companies have CEOs who are at least 50 years old, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Four things to know:

1. The median age of a CEO in the S&P 500 is 58, according to The Wall Street Journal's analysis of proxy data from MyLogIQ.

2. Of the 493 S&P 500 companies that filed proxy statements by May 1, only 28 had a CEO under age 50.

3. It takes time to gain managerial experience, and older CEOs have put in the hours, Charles Elson, director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware, told The Wall Street Journal. There's more risk involved with hiring a younger CEO, he said.

4. Although it's rare for the CEO of an S&P 500 company to be under 50, some companies are appointing younger CEOs. In 2018, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Wynn Resorts were among S&P 500 companies that appointed CEOs in their 40s, according to the report.

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