Afterpay co-CEOs share $264m record salary, topping highest-paid CEO list
A ranking of Australian chief executives who took home the biggest salaries last year has been released.
The ASX100 has revealed Australia’s highest paid chief executives and the bosses at buy-now-pay-later service, Afterpay topped the list.
Co-chief executives and founders Anthony Eisen and Nick Molnar each took home a record $264.2m pay packet between them – or the equivalent of 2800 times the average full-time wage.
The homegrown business partners have climbed a massive 82 spots higher on the list since 2020. It’s not a huge surprise given the booming success of Afterpay's service as online shopping sales rose dramatically during Covid lockdowns.
A key to the duo’s success was cashing in on 1.5 million options at $1 per option, when the share price was at a $90 high.
The second highest-paid chief executive was Paul Perreault behind the Australian specialty biotechnology company, CSL and earning a total of $58.9m. in the last financial year.
CSL was contracted by the federal government to produce the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine in Australia at an undisclosed price.
Macquarie Group chief executive Shemara Wikramanayake remains the highest-paid woman and person of colour in a chief executive role in Australia.
Afterpay was created at home by the former Rose Bay neighbours making the pair the only top chief executives on the list to have started their own company.
The average bonus paid to ASX100 chief executives also hit a new high at $2.31m, according to the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce was the only incumbent ASX100 chief executive not to receive a bonus in either 2020 or 2021.
The figures come at a time when Australian workers are putting increased pressure on employers to lift wages in line with the cost of living crisis.
Australia’s average full-time wage including overtime and penalty rates was around $94,000 annually in 2021, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The Fair Work Commission ruled last month that the countries' lowest earners would receive an additional $40 a week following a 5.2 per cent increase to the national minimum wage.
Top 10 highest-paid CEOs on ASX100
1. Afterpay – $264.2m
Buy-now, pay-later service
Anthony Eisen and Nick Molnar
2. CSL – $58.9m
Biotechnology company
Paul Perreault
3. Goodman Group – $37.1m
Global property experts in logistics and business
Greg Goodman
4. Macquarie Group – $14.6m
Global financial services group
Shemara Wikramanayake
5. Woolworths Group – $11.7m
Retail brand
Brad Banducci
6. Fortescue Metals Group – $11.1m
Iron ore mining
Elizabeth Gaines
7. BHP Group – $10.4m
Mining, metals and petroleum company
Mike Henry
8. Mineral Resources – $9.4m
Iron ore and lithium mining services
Chris Ellison
9. Ansell – $9.29m
Industrial and medical glove manufacturing
Magnus Nicolin
10. IDP Education – $9.25m
International student services
Andrew Barkla
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