Hard work

Americans work an average of 35 hours a week.

The average CEO works about 60 hours a week.

Americans have an average IQ of 98.

The average IQ of a Fortune 500 CEO is 124. https://t.co/LrcQcNkgjY

— Lauren Chen (@RoamingMil) 31 January 2019

Another thing: Many businesses fail. A lot of CEOs make negative money for many years. So, it's important to have sky-high incentives to get them back in the game. You can fail multiple times but end up being successful by wiping out your collective losses by making millions in the end. Of course, this is the "unseen" part of reality. The majority doesn't know about all those failed businesses because, well, they failed!

Just take a look at the leaders in the marijuana space; specifically the CEOs of Canopy Growth Corporation and Tilray. Those CEOs went through hell from 2012-2016 before their fortunes turned around.

Also, Elon Musk. The economics of electric vehicles at the present time is extremely risky and highly unprofitable. That doesn't stop Musk. He worked over 100 hours a week for the Model 3 ramp up. The guy is a multi-billionaire. He could bang supermodels in his mansions all day but instead he works to the bone.