Costco’s CEO Ron Vachris started in 1982 as a part-time forklift driver at Price Club, the warehouse chain Costco later merged with. He spent 40+ years working his way up to the top job.

Costco pays its CEO around a $1.2 million salary and total pay under $14 million — remarkably restrained for a company worth several hundred billion dollars.

Costco has sold its hot-dog-and-soda combo for $1.50 since 1985. A former CEO once said the price would stay $1.50 "forever" — and it has, even as inflation reshaped everything around it.

In more than 40 years, Costco has had only three CEOs: co-founder Jim Sinegal, Craig Jelinek, and — since 2024 — Ron Vachris, who started as a teenage forklift driver.