Britain’s ten highest paid fat cats pocketed more than £100million between them last year, a 39% increase on 2020.
And that means they are now getting 109 times more in their wage slips than the typical British worker - up from 79 times in the previous year.
The High Pay Centre and TUC have just published their annual round-up of FTSE 100 bosses and it makes startling reading as ordinary Brits wonder how they will pay energy bills..
In their top ten there is a new entry at number one with Sebastien De Montessus of metals and mining giant Endeavour on £16.85million.
The 47 year old Frenchman took over as top of the eye-poppers from fellow French Covid vaccine big pharma AstraZeneca boss Pascal Soirot, 63, now at No2 with £13.86million.
But still in at No3 for the second year running is Irishman Albert Manifold, 59, who has headed up building materials group CRH since 2014.
And at no4 is another metals and mining magnate, Anglo American’s Australian chief and father of seven Mark Cutifani, 64, on £9.83million.
But the bosses of the energy companies are not far behind. Shell’s Dutch CEO Ben van Beurden, 64, is no18 on £6.19million. He is likely to be even higher in the pay hike pecking order next year after making massive oil profits.
National Grid boss John Pettigrew, 63, is at no26 with £5.07million and has pocketed nearly £30million since taking over the electricity and gas distributor in 2016.
Luke Hildyard of the High Pay Centre said: “The role demands nothing more than a competent manager who should really be paid in the hundreds of thousands.”
In all 224 FTSE100 executives took nearly three quarters of a billion pounds in pay making the battle against inflation more difficult.
Mr Hildyard said: “Very high executive pay is a big part of the cost of living problem.
“If large employers are paying millions more to already wealthy executives, that makes it harder to fund pay increases for low and middle income workers.”
The TUC and the Centre want reforms to executive pay which would see workforce representatives on remuneration committees, and more transparency for earnings throughout the companies.
And the TUC is now demanding a £15 an hour minimum wage to help millions of struggling low-paid families.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “For too long workers have been told businesses can’t afford to pay them more. But the evidence shows they're still making profits.
“But right now, CEO pay is soaring while working people experience the biggest real wage fall in twenty years.”
Professor Jim Shackleton of the Institute for Economic Affairs said: “Most of these companies are multinational businesses listed here because of our favourable investment climate.
“This hugely benefits the UK and the taxpayer.”
| (Combined pay for time in post as CEO) 8.86 |
