{
  "id": 10697742,
  "title": "FTSE 100 bosses’ pay boom fails to bridge Wall Street gap",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/ftse-100-bosses-pay-boom-fails-to-bridge-wall-street-gap",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-29T13:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/ftse-100-bosses-pay-boom-fails-to-bridge-wall-street-gap/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The pay packages for chief executives at FTSE 100 companies surged 16% to an average of £6.1 million last year, according to a report from Diligent Market Intelligence. This increase saw long-term incentives account for 54% of the overall packages, up from 52% in previous years. The highest paid British chief executive was Pascal Soriot from Astrazeneca, who earned £17.7 million, with a substantial portion coming from £11.6 million in share bonuses. Soriot was granted 88% of his maximum potential payout under a three-year incentive plan focused on regulatory drug approvals and pipeline progress.\n\nDespite these substantial pay hikes, FTSE 100 executives still lag behind their counterparts on Wall Street. The median chief executive pay on the S&P 500, which tracks the top 500 US firms, rose 8% to $18.2 million (£13.7 million), more than double the London average. Cash sign-on bonuses for S&P 500 executives hit a new high, averaging $3.7 million, up from $3 million.\n\nThe gap in executive pay between London and Wall Street has been highlighted by London Stock Exchange boss Julia Hoggett, who has called for greater attention to be paid to executive remuneration in the UK. The median pay for S&P 500 CEOs, which reached a new high, is more than double the London average. Cash bonuses for S&P 500 executives also saw a significant increase, averaging $3.7 million, up from $3 million.\n\nA notable example of this disparity was seen with Nscale, a British AI startup set to list on the US market, which received a total compensation package of £17.2 million last year, just short of Astrazeneca's Pascal Soriot. Europe's executive pay packages have also been inching closer to London, with France's Cac40 rising 14% and Germany's Dax increasing by 2%, both hitting an average of €6.8 million (£5.8 million). However, the issue of executive pay remains a volatile topic in the City, with proxy agencies opposing package increases for top executives and highlighting the lack of a level playing field for UK companies.",
  "summary": "Pay for FTSE 100 bosses ballooned over the last year as boards turned to share bonuses in a bid to catch up with the compensation offered by US giants. The median granted chief executive pay in London’s blue-chip index swelled 16 per cent to £6.1m, according to a report from Diligent Market Intelligence. Long-term incentives [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}