Executive pay has not merely risen; it has taken off. In America, bosses of large firms earned 281 times as much as a typical worker in 2024, compared with 21 times in 1965. In Britain, the median FTSE 100 chief executive received £4.58 million in 2024/25, about 122 times the median full-time worker. (2) The Modern Chief Executive has not, despite the best efforts of remuneration consultants, evolved into a separate species.

The better explanation is scale. The largest companies have become bigger, more international and more complex. Their markets cross borders; their balance sheets have acquired extra zeroes; their mistakes can require parliamentary hearings. A boss of a £100 billion firm need not be 100 times cleverer than a boss of a £1 billion firm to be worth much more to shareholders. READ MORE