Jim Sinegal is one of the key architects behind Costco's success. Sinegal is well-known because, unlike many other CEOs, he believed in unconventional business strategies. For one thing, he only made one-third of what the other CEOs at Costco did. He elected to earn $300,000 per year rather than the other CEOs who received around $1 million. He did this because he believes that the wage disparity between businesses and employees should be minimal. Costco was able to invest more money back into the firm and support its employees and community by paying its top executive less. He also has a reputation for solely purchasing Kirkland brand things, particularly Kirkland brand clothing. Sinegal had an unusual situation involving a revelation he made concerning Costco's health insurance expenses. He discovered that the corporation had only paid 88 percent of its employees' health care bills, despite an agreement to pay 90 percent. To correct this, Sinegal compensated the employees for the remaining 2% and also purchased dividend stocks and deposited them straight into their 401(k) accounts. This was done to ensure that it was not taxed. He established the groundwork for Costco's low prices by reducing frills in its retail locations and deleting in-store ads. He also maintained inventories minimal to avoid high warehouse expenditures. As a result, he was able to keep retail pricing low. He even tried to keep pricing consistent, even if they were higher in different stores. Sinegal eventually stepped down as CEO but remained on the board until 2018. Craig Jelinek is Costco's current CEO and Sinegal's replacement.