City executives earn an average of £4.2m in salaries as FTSE 100 CEO wages soar to record high
City executives earned an average of £4.2m last year, while CEO pay at FTSE 100 companies hit a record high.
Analysis shows that the average salary of CEOs at the largest companies listed in London rose by 2.2 percent in 2023.
And this year, pay is likely to rise even further, as top executives at major companies have received huge pay raises.
AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot was City’s highest-paid boss in 2023 after taking home almost £17m.
Executive salaries are again in the spotlight amid concerns that better-paid US companies could poach the UK’s top executives.
In the spotlight: Companies have been criticized for giving CEOs huge salaries and bonuses while workers struggled in the cost of living crisis
Companies are being criticized for paying CEOs extremely high salaries and bonuses while their employees struggle with the cost of living.
The median FTSE 100 CEO now earns 120 times the average full-time UK worker, according to research from think tank the High Pay Centre. That’s down from 124 times in 2022, but still up from 108 times in 2021.
However, companies defend the high salary packages by arguing that they are necessary to attract and retain top talent.
Pharma boss Soriot earned £16.9m in 2023, taking his total earnings to £135m during his 12-year tenure. The French businessman is set to receive an even bigger payout of £18.9m this year.
Pay is a regular source of controversy for Soriot. After earning £13m in 2018, he complained that he was “the lowest paid CEO in the entire industry”, while bosses of rival biotech companies earned more.
Soriot has been credited with reviving AstraZeneca’s fortunes since he took over in 2012, with shares rising more than 300 percent.
Meanwhile, analytics firm RELX paid CEO Erik Engstrom £13.64 million, a 59 percent increase on the previous year, taking his total salary since taking the top job in 2009 to more than £100 million.
Rolls-Royce boss Tufan Erginbilgic earned £13.6 million in 2023, making him the third-highest-paid FTSE 100 boss. He has been praised for leading a turnaround at the British engineering giant, with Rolls’ share price soaring around 300 percent since he took over in January 2023.
BAE Systems boss Charles Woodburn was paid £13.45m, GSK CEO Emma Walmsley was paid £12.72m and Pearson CEO Andy Bird was paid £11.27m.
Luke Hildyard, director at the High Pay Centre, said: ‘The rise in average CEO pay reflects a small number of companies offering really big pay. Higher executive pay has been a key demand from corporate lobbyists in recent years.
‘This campaign has had some success, as shareholders in Britain’s largest companies are more willing to accept higher payouts.’
DIY INVESTMENT PLATFORMS
AJ-Bel
AJ-Bel
Easy investing and ready-made portfolios
Hargreaves Lansdown
Hargreaves Lansdown
Free Fund Trading and Investment Ideas
interactive investor
interactive investor
Fixed investment costs from £4.99 per month
Saxo
Saxo
Get £200 back on trading fees
Trading 212
Trading 212
Free trading and no account fees
Affiliate links: If you purchase a product, This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team because we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.