A new milestone has been reached. According to a report published this Tuesday, November 12, by the consulting agency Proxinvest, the average remuneration of the big bosses of the CAC 40 exceeded 7 million euros in 2023, standing at 7.115 million, or 6% more than in 2022. Remuneration which is up 37% compared to 2019, a year considered more representative than 2021 and 2020, where the Covid-19 pandemic had pushed certain managers to give up part of their income. According to Les Echosthis would represent almost 95 times the remuneration of their employees or the equivalent of 304 SMIC (based on 39 hours).
Same observation on the SBF 120 side, the expanded index which brings together the 120 largest companies listed in Paris including that of the CAC 40. Here too, the average remuneration of executive presidents is increasing, reaching 4.3 million euros in 2023, an increase of 2% compared to 2022 and 17% compared to 2019.
Bernard Charlès at the top of the ranking
The average fixed remuneration of executives has reached historic records within the CAC 40 as well as the SBF 120, indicates the firm, while the average amount of annual bonuses is down slightly compared to the record levels of 2022. At the top of the executive podium the highest paid in 2023: Bernard Charlès, general manager of Dassault Systèmes, with 46.8 million euros. Ilham Kadri from Solvay occupies second place with 23 million euros, while Carlos Tavares from Stellantis takes the last step with a total remuneration of 17.8 million euros according to Proxinvest.
Through this classification, the report values ”all forms of executive remuneration awarded for the 2023 financial year”, from the fixed salary of executives to annual bonuses, but also counting “indirect forms of remuneration” such as The allocation of shares which represents a significant part of the income, specifies Proxinvest. The figures may therefore differ from the data communicated by the companies.
An astonishing drop in 2022
Last year, the pattern was different. In 2022, the leaders of the flagship index of the Paris Stock Exchange had earned 6.7 million euros on average, while those of the SBF 120 had earned 4.2 million, according to the report published by Proxinvest in November 2023 . Remuneration down 15% for the CAC 40 and 12% for the second, compared to the figures for 2021.
But this drop was “illusory”, warned Jehanne Leroy, director of ESG research (environmental, social and governance criteria) at Proxinvest during a videoconference with the media. At issue: the year 2021, which was marked by “a Carlos Tavares effect”, named after the general director of the Franco-Italian-American automobile group Stellantis. He had obtained record remuneration, more than 66.7 million euros according to Proxinvest (19.15 million according to the company), due to exceptional elements, compared to 19.6 million euros in 2022. However, one element of last year’s report was similar to that of 2024: the first place in the ranking of Bernard Charlès.