The average UK worker would have to work for more than 40 years to earn what the highest-paid UK boss can earn in a single day.
This astounding fact comes from recent reports revealing that the highest-paid boss in the UK earned a whopping £421 million last year, which equates to £1.2 million every day.
So who are the UK bosses that are raking it in? Let’s investigate.
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Who is the highest-paid boss in the UK?
That would be Denise Coates, the joint CEO of gambling firm Bet365.
Ms Coates, who’s also the founder and majority shareholder of Bet365, earned a salary of £421 million in the fiscal year that ended on 29 March. When you factor in the £48 million that she earned in dividends, her total salary comes to £469 million.
This is more than the bosses of every FTSE 100 company combined, according to the latest report by think tank the High Pay Centre. The report shows the median chief executive pay across almost all of the FTSE 100 was £3.61 million.
Coates’ salary is also thought to be the highest financial reward package ever offered to a UK company executive in history.
After earning such a huge amount, it’s no surprise that Coates is also the UK’s top taxpayer, according to the Sunday Times tax list. For the 2019-2020 year, Coates and her company had to fork out more than £573 million to the taxman.
Who are the other high-paid bosses in the UK?
Hedge fund manager, Sir Chris Hohn, is second on the list of highest-paid UK bosses.
Hohn is the owner of TCI Fund Management (UK) Limited. This is the company that runs the TCI Fund and which holds total shareholder funds of £1.94 billion.
The tycoon, whose personal fortune is estimated by Forbes to be £4.3 billion, reportedly paid himself £343 million last year after the TCI Fund soared 66% in pre-tax profits to £499 million.
The other person in the list of highest-paid UK bosses, who also happens to be the highest-paid boss in the FTSE 100 is Tim Steiner, the CEO of online shopping giant, Ocado.
Steiner received a compensation package worth nearly £59 million in 2019, according to the High Pay Centre. That’s seven times lower than that of Hohn.
Steiner is followed by Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca, the large pharmaceutical company at the forefront of the fight against Covid-19, who earned £14.5 million.
Here’s the full list of highest-earning FTSE 100 CEOs in 2019 and the amount each earned.
Chief executive | Company | 2019 pay |
Tim Steiner | Ocado | £58.783m |
Pascal Soriot | AstraZeneca | £14.330m |
Ivan Menezes | Diageo | £11.654m |
Mark Cutifani | Anglo American | £11.225m |
Bob Dudley | BP | £10.373m |
Brian Cassin | Experian | £10.344m |
Benoit Durteste | Intermediate Capital Group | £9.526m |
Ben van Beurden | Royal Dutch Shell | £8.761m |
Erik Engstrom | RELX | £8.681m |
Emma Walmsley | GlaxoSmithKline | £8.369m |
There are six CEOs in the FTSE 100 who earn more than £10 million per year. The bottom line? UK top companies’ bosses are extremely well compensated.
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How to grow your own wealth
It goes without saying that most of us may never become as rich or earn the same as the UK’s highest-paid executives. But don’t think that you need to be a part of the rich elite or a CEO of a major corporation to achieve financial independence.
For example, the stock market has been around for decades, providing investors with opportunities to become wealthy and attain financial freedom.
As many investors can attest, if you adopt a long-term approach and keep your emotions at bay, then there is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to succeed and achieve your financial objectives.
If you’re new to stock investing, check out our comprehensive investing guide for beginners.
Alternatively, if you are already familiar with investing, see if you can maximise your returns by investing in one of our top-rated stocks and shares ISAs, which allow you to invest up to £20,000 tax free each year.
Please note that tax treatment depends on the specific circumstances of the individual and may be subject to change in the future.