FTSE 100 bosses make more money by noon today than average worker in a year

London: The latest figures show that FTSE 100 CEOs will make more money by noon today than the average worker earns in an entire year. Can you believe that? The median pay for these top execs is a whopping £4.22 million, which is 113 times what the average full-time worker makes, around £37,430.

This means that by about 11:30 AM, they’ll have already surpassed what their employees earn in a year. Last year, this milestone was hit a bit later, around 1 PM on the third working day of the year.

While workers saw a pay increase of 7% over the past year, bosses only got a 2.5% bump. Still, their pay is at record levels, which is pretty wild. The Trades Union Congress is calling out this huge pay gap, especially since many low-paid workers are still struggling with the cost of living crisis.

AstraZeneca’s Pascal Soriot has been the highest-paid CEO for a while now, raking in £18.7 million for 2024, despite some pushback from shareholders. Other top earners include Erik Engstrom from RelX and Tufan Erginbilgiç from Rolls-Royce, both making £13.6 million.

The median hourly pay for these CEOs is around £1,298.46, which is nearly £22 a minute! Some folks argue that these high salaries are necessary to attract the best talent, while unions believe that workers deserve a bigger slice of the pie.

The TUC is hopeful that the Labour government’s new employment rights bill will help improve pay and job security for workers. However, business groups are pushing back, claiming it could lead to higher prices.

Luke Hildyard from the High Pay Centre pointed out that these financial disparities can lead to political unrest. He suggests that having workers on boards could help bridge the gap between employees and bosses. It’s a complex issue, and if it’s not addressed, it could lead to bigger problems down the line.