Whopping pay packets of Australia’s highest-earning CEOs revealed

Half of the top 10 highest-paid chief executives on the ASX200 were from US-based companies, nudging out Australians who are facing greater scrutiny.

A new study by the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) found foreign bosses took home the largest salaries for the first time in its 25-year history, partly due to more oversight from local investors and boards.

Life360 chief executive Chris Hulls came in first with a realised pay of $47.7 million, according to the annual study by the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI).

He was followed by ResMed chief executive Mick Farrell with a pay packet of $35.1 million and News Corp head Robert Thomson with $33.5 million.

In fourth place but the highest-paid Australian-based chief was Sigma Healthcare’s Vikesh Ramsunder, with $32.6 million following a successful merger with Chemist Warehouse.

Three more US-based bosses made the list – Neuren Pharmaceuticals’ Jon Pilcher, Newmont’s Tom Palmer and Light and Wonder’s Matthew Wilson.

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The full list of 20 chief executives earned a combined $376,439,419 in the last financial year – roughly the equivalent of what more than 5000 people on the median salary of $74,100 would earn together over the course of a year.

The median chief executive pay for the last financial year was $1.8 million, which was a four per cent increase from the previous year but still below the record of $1.9 million in 2012.

“The diligence of Australian investors and boards continues to mean ASX CEO pay levels have generally avoided the runaway increases we’ve seen elsewhere,” ACSI stewardship executive manager Ed John said.

“It also means that where CEOs appear in the highest-paid list, their companies will generally have delivered strong performance over the long term.”

Meanwhile, bonuses remained strong.

The study found that a chief executive is more likely to lose their job than their bonuses.

Each year for the past 11 years, including the pandemic-plagued 2020 financial year, they have received a median bonus of between 60 and 77 per cent of the maximum level.

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Only five chief executives received no bonus this year.

John warned investors not to become complacent as bonuses remain a given in some of the country’s largest companies.

“This year investors will need to remain vigilant to ensure that we do not see the inflation in CEO salaries or a pay ‘break-out’ that we see in markets like the US,” he said.