Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen Was Forced to Resign — What Is His Net Worth?

In March 2025, Rodney McMullen's long and storied career at Kroger came to an end when the CEO resigned following an investigation into reported "personal misconduct." Per a press release from Kroger, it was "not related to the Company's financial performance, operations or reporting, and it did not involve any Kroger associates." The Board appointed an interim CEO and hired an outside firm to search for a new CEO.

This is quite the nail in the coffin of a career that began at Kroger in 1978, when McMullen was only 17 years old. He was attending the University of Kentucky and needed to pay his way through his remaining years at school, as McMullen's parents could only afford the first year. It's an astounding tale of what the corporate ladder was once able to do for hardworking people. McMullen's resignation will undoubtedly affect his net worth. Here's what we know.

According to Market Realist, McMullen has an estimated net worth of $22.7 million, which consists of 6,000 units of Kroger stock valued at over $1.6 million. As a kid growing up in Kentucky and around Southwest Ohio, McMullen couldn't conceive of such wealth, especially because his parents frequently moved for work. The "had the kind of jobs where if the economy went soft, you got laid off," said McMullen to the Cincinnati Enquirer. "You don't want anyone to have the fear I had growing up."

Because of their difficult employment situation, McMullen's parents prioritized getting an education. "They thought college education would have more security," he explained. He took their teachings to heart and got both bachelor's and master's degrees, all in the span of four years. During that time, McMullen was working nights as a stock boy at a Kroger in Lexington, Ky.

McMullen looked back on that time fondly. "My parents figured if there's a will, there's a way," he said. "I worked every job in that store, from the dairy to the deli." Because he was studying accounting at the university, McMullen was great with numbers, something his boss picked up on. By the time he was ready to graduate, McMullen was offered a job as an accounting supervisor at a Kroger in Charlotte, N.C.

McMullen wasted no time in bringing Kroger into the modern world. He added a personal computer to his office, which allowed folks to complete a task in 15 minutes as opposed to an entire day. He also trained his staff on how to use the computer. By 1986, he was a financial analyst at the Kroger headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Thanks to his ability to crunch numbers, McMullen predicted the amount of money needed to pay off a $4 billion debt which ultimately kept Kroger as a publicly-traded company. This earned McMullen another promotion and from 1995 to 2000, he was the CFO. He then became the executive vice president of strategy, planning, and finance. Less than a decade later, McMullen was made president and chief operating officer in 2009.

Finally, in January 2014 McMullen was elevated to CEO of Kroger. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that in 2020 he was paid $20.6 million but took a cut in 2021, earning $18 million.