A study of the top 100 listed Australian companies has shown that the average wage of CEO’s has doubled in a space of a decade.

 

The report released by the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors finds (ACSI) that the average CEO’s total pay in 2010 was $4.9 million, following a steady period of upwards tracking.

 

The study shows a significant increase in CEO pay at large companies over the past decade. The decade to 2010 saw median CEO fixed pay in the Top 100 ASX Australian companies increase 131 percent and the median bonus increase 190 percent

 

“In the wake of the Global Financial Crisis, there is an indication that regulatory and shareholder efforts to reduce the potential for executives to receive cash-based windfall gains, based on unsustainable performance, has been successful in many large Australian companies. In recent years we have witnessed an increasing number of companies deferring significant proportions of annual bonuses into equity vesting over time, particularly in the financial sector,” the report finds

 

ACSI was established in 2001 to represent ‘profit for member’ superannuation funds on the management of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) investment risk. Today ACSI’s members manage over $300 billion in retirement savings.

 

The full report can be found here