Top bosses on 100 times average earnings

The bonanza in boardroom pay has become even more spectacular, according to the latestfigures from the accountancy firm KPMG.

The typical chief executiveof a FTSE 100 company hasseen their total remuneration rise by 12 per cent in the pastyear, to reach over £2.6m. That's four times the rate of increasein average earnings, leavingthe business elite on pay over100 times what most of their employees earn.

In the case of those chief executives still in post, their income went up by 16 per cent, accelerating last year's 9 per cent rise. The chief executive of one of the smaller FTSE 250 companies would expect to see a total package of just over £1m, up from £878,000 in 2006.

Britain's top corporate earner is probably still Bob Diamond of Barclays Capital, who took home £22.9m last year, including a performance-related bonus of £10.4m.

Others in that bracket include Bart Becht, chief executive of Reckitt Benckiser, the man behind Mr Sheen, on £22m; Giles Thorley, head of Punch Taverns, making ends meet on £11m; and Lord Browne, late of BP, similarly well-looked after. Mr Thorley's package is equivalent to 1,147 of his staff's pay.

Taken together, the directors of FTSE 100 companies collectively earned £515m lastyear – exceeding the GDP ofthe likes of Eritrea and theSeychelles.

Looking around the boardroom, we find the average FTSE 100 finance director can expect to see around £1.4m land in his bank account, with other executive directors on around £1.2m. For the FTSE 250, the equivalent figures are £623,000 and £544,000.

The figures pre-date the credit crunch, which may have a moderately depressing effect on top people's pay, especially for those in the City.

Mary Carter, a partner at KPMG, said that "incentives need to be clear and concise signals. Targets are often set to pander to investors' understanding at the expense of effectiveness. Will 2008 be the year in which more companies put their heads above the parapet and implement bold remuneration strategies that really encourage stellar performance?"