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The Rich Do, Indeed, Keep Getting Richer

It’s one of life’s injustices, at least if you’re not among the wealthy, but money does seem to attract money and the rich do keep getting richer. Recent statistics from Incomes Data Services show that the bosses of some of the biggest, richest and most powerful companies in the UK have given themselves whopping increases that have pushed up their income by 27%. This while austerity measures are in place.

It’s reminiscent of the scandalous increases that bank executives received straight after banks in Britain were bailed out with billions of Pounds of taxpayers’ money.

The guilty parties this year included Angela Ahrendts (£15.9 million – Burberry), Sir Martin Sorrell (£14 million – WPP), Edward Bonham Carter (£10.4 million – Jupiter), Peter Voser (£10.4 million – Shell and Bob Diamond (£9.9 million – Barclays).

The picture in the US

US executives are also sitting pretty, although not as pretty as they were in 2007, before the Jupiter sized bubble burst. According to Forbes, the biggest earners include:

• John H Hammergren, who is the CEO of McKesson and who’s one-year pay is just about bang on $131.2 million.
• Ralph Lauren, who is rather obviously the CEO of Ralph Lauren and who’s one-year pay tops $66.6 million.
• Howard D Schultz, who is the CEO of Starbucks and who’s one-year pay is $41.47 million.
• Robert A Iger, who is Walt Disney’s CEO and who is nearly at the $40 million mark.
• Frederick W Smith, who is the CEO of FedEx and who lingers around the $25 million mark.

You might want to feel sorry for Larry Page (Google, for those who don’t know) because his one-year pay doesn’t even reach a million, even though he’s worth over $20 billion. Mind you, Warren Buffet’s one-year pay is only $0.49 million and he’s the second richest man in America.

It’s not all bleak

To be fair, other industries have seen decent pay rises, if not over the past year then certainly over the past few years. The Guardian reports that social workers have received an average increase of 17% over the past six years, housing and welfare officers have seen an average increase on 12%, teachers in further education have seen an average increase of 14.7%, welders and such have had an average increase of 22% and, of course, financial managers have had an average increase of over 20%.

Accountants, on the other hand, have only had a one percent increase – surprising, isn’t it?

So, what are us plebs to do? We can always hope to win the lottery and then consult some overpaid financial managers to help us invest our money to reap maximum returns. Or we can grumble quietly and keep slogging away, hoping for some justice – eventually.

Written by Sandy Cosser on behalf of Direct Axis, a personal financial services provider whose range of services includes debt consolidation, for those who aren’t company CEOs.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Adriana Frederick .