Lowe's Companies LOW, -2.24% Chief Executive Marvin Ellison was paid a base salary of $1.45 million in 2019, a 68% raise from 2018, according to the home improvement retailer's 2019 Proxy Statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Ellison's base represented 12.5% of his total compensation of $11.62 million, which was down 19% from a year ago. His total compensation 511 times that of the total compensation of its median employee of $22,748, which includes both full-time and part-time employees. In comparison, rival Home Depot's proxy statement filed earlier this month showed that its CEO, Craig Menear had a salary of $1.30 million in 2019, down from $1.35 million in 2018; total compensation slipped to $10.89 million from $11.37 million; and the median employees compensation was $22,652, making the CEO pay ratio 481 to 1. Lowe's stock rallied 29.7% in 2019, while Home Depot shares climbed 27.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.87% rose 22.3%.