Australia’s highest-earning CEOs are have been revealed, and the men who took out the top spot here Peter and Steven Lowy.
The pair, who head up the Westfield Group, raked in a whopping $26.3 million in 2016.
They were followed closely by Macquarie Group CEO Nicholas Moore, who pocketed a cool $25.7 million.
In third place was Don Meji of Domino’s Pizza, followed by Louis Gries from James Hardie.
Both took home an incredible $21 million.
Earning $18 million for his role as CEO of Ramsay Health Care is Chris Rex, followed by sixth-placed Qantas CEO Alan Joyce who got $14.3 million in 2016.
In seventh place from Amcor Ltd was Ron Delia with $14.1.
He was closely followed by Commonwealth Bank’s Ian Narev and Jamie Odell from Aristocrat Leisure.
Mr Delia took home $12.3 million, while Mr Odell earned almost as much with an even $12 million.
And sneaking onto the list in tenth place is Mark McInnes, CEO of Premier Investments, who earned $11.1 million for the year.
Australia’s highest-paid CEOs are Peter (left) and Steven Lowy (right) from Westfield Group
Nicholas Moore (left) is the second highest-paid CEO in Australia, while Don Meji (right) is third
Although pay for Australian CEOs has dipped slightly over the past several years, typical fixed remuneration for 2016 was $1.79 million.
This is less than in previous years, but it is still a 4.4 per cent increase over 2015.
The usual bonus is $1.49 million, and all but eight CEOs in Australia’s 100 largest listed companies (ASX100) received one, according to the Australian Council for Superannuation Investors’ annual CEO survey.
These figures mean that the average CEO of an ASX100 company took home a total pay of about $3.78 million, according to The Age.
Louis Gries (left) from James Hardie earns $21 million making him the fourth highest-paid CEO on the Top Ten list, while Ramsay Health Care CEO Chris Rex gets $18 (right) and came in fifth
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce got $14.3 (left) and Amcor Ltd CEO Ron Delia (right) earns $14.1 million
But do they deserve it? Chief executive of ACSI Louise Davidson is sceptical.
‘Investors reasonably assume that bonuses will only be awarded for exceptional performance, over and above normal expectations,’ Ms Davidson said.
‘The prevalence of CEO bonuses at consistently high levels raises serious questions about the way performance hurdles are being designed and applied.’
Commonwealth Bank’s Ian Narev earns $12.3 million making him the eighth highest-paid CEO
Jamie Odell from Aristocrat Leisure (left) earns $12 million, while is Mark McInnes (right), CEO of Premier Investments, earned $11.1 million for the year and nailed the tenth spot on the list