Archive · 20 Jul 2026
Britain's CEOs Earn 130 Times More Than Workers
The bosses of big companies in Britain are earning a lot more money than regular workers.
The average CEO of a top company makes about £5.06 million a year, which is 130 times more than the average worker who makes £39,000.
This is the biggest gap in eight years.
The bosses get a lot of extra money from bonuses and rewards for doing well.
Some people think this isn't fair and want the government to do something about it.
They want bosses to have less money and workers to have more.
They also want workers to have a say in how much bosses earn.
Median pay for FTSE 100 CEOs rose to £5.06 million, an 8.6% increase from the previous year.
The pay gap between CEOs and average UK workers widened to 130:1, the highest since 2018.
Executive bonuses and long-term incentives drove much of the increase in CEO pay.
Pascal Soriot of AstraZeneca was the highest-paid CEO, earning £17.7 million.
The High Pay Centre calls for reforms to executive pay, including a 'fat-cat tax' on excessive earnings.
- Who
- FTSE 100 CEOs and UK workers
- What
- Widening pay gap between CEOs and workers
- When
- Latest financial year (specific year not mentioned)
- Where
- United Kingdom
- Why
- Increase in executive bonuses and long-term incentives
- Median CEO Pay (FTSE 100)
- £5.06 million
- Median Worker Pay (UK)
- £39,000
- Pay Gap Ratio
- 130:1
- Total Executive Pay (FTSE 100)
- £856.6 million
- Highest-Paid CEO (AstraZeneca)
- Pascal Soriot (£17.7 million)
- Second-Highest-Paid CEO (GSK)
- Emma Walmsley (£15.6 million)
- High Pay Centre's Proposal
- Fat-cat tax on excessive executive pay