Highest paid CEOs earned 86 times median wage in 2020

To continue reading please register or login to your OHW+ account.

The median-earning FTSE 100 chief executive was paid £2.69 million in 2020, 86 times that of the median full-time worker in the UK, according to analysis by the High Pay Centre. The highest paid was AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot, who earned £14.45 million for his part in successfully delivering a coronavirus vaccine. The company has committed to delivering 1 billion doses for low and middle-income countries and is selling its vaccines for no profit. The second highest earning CEO was Brian Cassin of credit company Experian, who made £10.3 million. The median FTSE 100 pay figure fell by 17% in 2020 compared with the £3.25 million median in 2019. For the six companies with a female CEO, median pay for 2020 was £2.63 million, slightly below the male median of £2.8 million. Across the nine companies monitored that used the government’s furlough scheme during the pandemic, the average CEO pay for 2020 was £2.39 million. Two-thirds paid their CEO an annual bonus, down from 89% in 2019. More than three-quarters (77%) paid out ‘long-term incentive plans’, however, based on the executives’ pe