They took home a combined $264.2 million of realised pay
The co-chief executive officers and founders of financial technology company Afterpay are the highest-paid executives of Australia, after receiving a combined $264.2 million of realised pay.
This is according to the findings of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI), which was revealed on Wednesday. The report also said the pandemic-hit bonuses of CEOs were "short-lived," as payments rebounded to new record highs.
The average bonus awarded to ASX100 chiefs hit a record of $2.31 million, according to ACSI, surpassing 2017's record of $2.30 million.
"After their lowest year on record, big bonuses have returned, but they haven't just rebounded, they've hit new heights," Ed John, Executive Manager, Stewardship at ACSI, said in a statement.
According to John, ACSI and investors will be scrutinising the results-reporting season to see if the "concerning trend of bonus 'catch-up' continues."
"This year's outcomes will be judged against a backdrop of difficult financial markets and an uncertain economic outlook," he said. "Bonuses for CEOs shouldn't be awarded for business-as-usual outcomes. Payments to senior executives have to be aligned with value created for shareholders and reflect true outperformance."
According to the report, Afterpay co-CEOs, Anthony Eisen and Nick Molnar, led the top 10 highest-paid executives across Australia. The top 10 are:
According to ACSI, three CEOs received maximum bonuses over the past three years, namely Premier Investments CEO Mark McInnes, Charter Hall CEO David Harrison, and Steadfast CEO Robert Kelly.
On the other hand, only Qantas CEO Alan Joyce did not receive a bonus in either FY202 or FY21 among all incumbent ASX100 CEO.
The amount paid to Australia's highest-earning executives saw criticism from the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), who pointed out that it reflected the massive pay gap between CEOs and regular employees.
"This data shows the massive gap between big businesses and working people in this country. We are seeing record profits and record bonusses, while working people suffer real wage cuts," said ACTU Secretary Sally McManus in a statement.
"Working people are taking massive real pay cuts while executives receive record bonuses on the back of the value working people have created. Big business can afford wage increases, it is just that they do not want to give them and the collective bargaining system failing to deliver them."
ACTU then reiterated its call for a functioning bargaining system, stressing that the existign one is "not delivering the wage growth that Australian workers need and deserve."
