Chief executives of energy firms British Gas, BP PLC (LSE:BP.) and Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL) gained some of the highest pay increases among FTSE 100 company bosses between 2021 and 2022.
As household energy bills soared, Chris O’Shea, Bernard Looney and Ben van Beurden scored pay increases of £5.6 million, £3.6 million and £3.4 million respectively, placing their salaries among the top five risers in the FTSE 100 last year.
In percentage terms, the trio’s pay rose by 413%, 125% and 53% respectively, as per data from think tank High Pay Centre.
Energy bills soared between 2021 and 2022 meanwhile, as knock-on effects of the pandemic and war in Ukraine saw Ofgem lift its energy price cap from £1,138 to £3,549 - 212% - over the course of the year.
Across London’s blue-chip index, chief executives’ pay increased by an average of 16%, or around £500,000, with AstraZeneca’s Pascal Soriot paid the most in 2022 at £15.3 million.
On average, those at the top of FTSE 100 firms were paid £3.4 million last year, marking the highest level of median pay for blue chip bosses since 2017.
Top ten highest-paid CEOs in 2022:
- Pascal Soriot - AstraZeneca PLC - £15.3 million
- Charles Woodburn - BAE Systems PLC (LSE:BA.) - £10.7 million
- Albert Manifold - CRH PLC (LSE:CRH) - £10.4 million
- Bernard Looney - BP PLC (LSE:BP.) - £10 million
- Brian Cassin - Experian (LSE:EXPN) - £9.9 million
- Ben van Beurden - Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL) - £9.7 million
- Jack Bowles - British American Tobacco PLC (LSE:BATS) - £9.6 million
- Mark Cutifani/ Ducan Wanblad - Anglo American PLC (LSE:AAL) - £9.5 million
- Sebastien de Montessus - Endeavour Mining PLC (LSE:EDV, TSX:EDV, OTCQX:EDVMF) - £9 million
- Emma Walmsley - GSK PLC (LSE:GSK, NYSE:GSK) - £8.5 million
High Pay Centre researchers suggested the figures proved the need for reform, since many British households found themselves struggling on the back on 2022’s rampant inflation.
“At a time when so many households are struggling with living costs, it is surely not desirable or sensible for companies including some of Britain’s biggest employers to prioritise a half-a-million-pound pay rise for executives who are already multi-millionaires,” the group said.
“How major employers distribute the wealth that their workforce creates has a big impact on people’s living standards.”
The group called on employers to include elected workforce representatives in remuneration committees that set pay, alongside more sweeping bonus systems which benefit workers across companies and not just those at the top.