CEO salaries are always under heavy scrutiny by the public – hardly surprising when you consider that the highest paid FTSE 100 CEO makes over 1500 times the average wage in the UK.
To make this information easily available, IG has created Pay Check – a free online database of the salaries for some of the world’s most powerful people, which can be viewed here: https://www.ig.com/uk/special-reports/pay-check
Pay Check reveals the salaries of CEOs of global brands and FTSE 100 companies, as well as the heads of government and state for every OECD country.
Who are the highest paid global brand CEOs? *
1. Satya Nadella (Microsoft) – £36,482,047
2. Sundar Pichai (Alphabet) – £35,708,187
3. Chuck Robbins (Cisco) – £21,960,393
Global brand CEOs pay vs GDP: fast facts
Samsung’s Kinam Kim earns more in relation to his country’s GDP than any other top-20 brand CEO, with pay of £2.22 for every £1,000,000 that South Korea generates
Oracle’s Larry Ellison is the lowest paid top-20 global brand CEO by this metric, earning just £0.08 for every £1,000,000 of US GDP
The average top-20 global brand CEO earns £0.94 for every £1,000,000 that their country generates in terms of GDP (equivalent to €0.94 per €1,000,000 or $0.94 per $1,000,000)
Who are the highest paid FTSE 100 CEOs? *
- Tim Steiner (Ocado Group) – £58,727,000
- Dave Jenkinson (Persimmon) – £24,986,383
- Ben van Beurden (Royal Dutch Shell) – £18,520,092
FTSE 100 CEOs pay vs GDP: fast facts
Ocado Group’s Tim Steiner earns £24.19 for every £1,000,000 of UK GDP – more than any other FTSE 100 CEO
Smith and Nephew’s Roland Diggelmann is the lowest paid FTSE 100 CEO by this metric, earning just £0.09 for every £1,000,000 of UK GDP
The average FTSE 100 CEO earns £2.20 for every £1,000,000 that the UK generates in GDP (equivalent to €2.20 per €1,000,000 or $2.20 per $1,000,000)
Who are the highest paid heads of state? *
- Elizabeth II (Monarch, United Kingdom) – £104,100,000
- Willem–Alexander (Monarch, Netherlands) – £36,948,044
- Philippe (Monarch, Belgium) – £10,645,828
Heads of state pay vs GDP: fast facts
King of the Netherlands Willem Alexander earns £47.57 for every £1,000,000 his country generates in GDP – more than any other OECD head of state
President Donald Trump is the lowest paid OECD head of state by this metric, earning just £0.02 for every £1,000,000 of US GDP.
The average OECD head of state earns £5.71 for every £1,000,000 that their country generates in GDP (equivalent to €5.71 per €1,000,000 or $5.71 per $1,000,000)
Who are the highest paid heads of government? *
- Ueli Maurer (President of the Swiss Confederation, Switzerland) – £422,103
- Donald Trump (President, United States) – £340,078
- Sebastian Kurz (Chancellor, Austria) – £287,446
Heads of goverment pay vs GDP: fast facts
Luxembourg’s prime minister, Xavier Bettel, earns £3.18 for every £1,000,000 his country generates in GDP – more than any other OECD head of government
President Donald Trump is the lowest paid OECD head of government by this metric, earning just £0.02 for every £1,000,000 of US GDP
The average OECD head of government earns £0.60 for every £1,000,000 that their country generates in GDP (equivalent to €0.60 per €1,000,000 or $0.60 per $1,000,000)
To find out more, visit Pay Check here: https://www.ig.com/uk/special-reports/pay-check
Methodology:
This research enables you to compare the pay of CEOs from the FTSE 100 and top-20 global brands (according to Interbrand), as well as OECD heads of state and government. The term ‘pay’ has been used as a general term for the income that these individuals receive for their stated role, which may include a base salary, public grants, bonuses, stock options, pension contributions, and/or other forms of remuneration. CEO pay refers to total remuneration, rather than base salary. Where applicable, figures were converted to GBP, USD and EUR using forex rates at close on 18 March 2020. A full list of sources for the quoted data, including GDP and average salary figures, is available to download here.
About IG
IG is an award-winning, multi-platform trading company, the world’s No.1 provider of spread betting and CFD trading,1 and a global leader in forex. It provides leveraged trading products with negative balance protection,2 and an execution-only share dealing service. A range of affordable, fully managed investment portfolios completes IG’s comprehensive offering.
The company is a member of the FTSE 250, and has offices across Europe, North America, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. It also offers on-exchange limited risk derivatives via the Nadex brand in the US.
1 Based on revenue excluding FX (published financial statements, February 2018); for forex based on number of primary relationships with FX traders (Investment Trends UK Leveraged Trading Report released August 2018).
2 Does not apply to professional traders.
