Sir Martin Sorrell defends his £70m pay package
WPP advertising guru faces anger from shareholders over one of largest pay packets in UK history
Advertising guru Sir Martin Sorrell has been forced to defend his large pay package, saying he is worth every penny.
The founder of advertising giant WPP is facing a backlash from shareholders over his probable total remuneration of more than £70m this year, which is thought to be the second-largest ever earned by the chief executive of a large company in the UK.
The total package is made up of a £1.15m salary, a share award of £63m - which may rise to £70m, when the rest of the financial year is added - and an undisclosed cash bonus on top, says The Independent.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Speaking at an advertising conference in London yesterday, Sorrell said he had spent decades of his life turning WPP plc from a maker of wire baskets worth £1m when he bought it in 1985 to a £21bn global marketing firm.
"WPP capitalised at £1m [at its start in1985]. Today it is capitalised at £21bn. I'm not a Johnny-come-lately who picked a company up and turned it round [for a big pay day]," he said, reports The Guardian.
"If it was one five-year plan and we buggered off, fine [to criticise my pay]. Over those 31 years … I have taken a significant degree of risk. [WPP] is where my wealth is. It is long effort over a long period of time."
He added: "Everything we do gets approved by shareholders, one way or the other. In the last five years, the share price has grown from 665p to 1645p. If there is a problem, it is that the market capitalisation has grown from £8bn to £20bn.
"If there is a problem, it is that we have been successful. It's pay. I don't like the word 'pay'. It is reward for performance with risk attached."
The businessman faced a similar revolt in 2014, when 30 per cent of shareholders refused to endorse a £30m windfall that made him the best-paid executive in the FTSE 100.
This year's pay-out will be the second-largest ever given to a FTSE 100 executive, with Sorrell only out-earned by Bart Becht, who took £92m in shares and cash for helming Reckitt Benckiser in 2009.
Infographic by www.statista.com for TheWeek.co.uk.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'The disconnect between actual health care and the insurance model is widening'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Cautious optimism surrounds plans for the world's first nuclear fusion power plant
Talking Point Some in the industry feel that the plant will face many challenges
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Explore new worlds this winter at these 6 enlightening museum exhibitions
The Week Recommends Discover the estrados of Spain and the connection between art and chess in various African countries
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Labour shortages: the ‘most urgent problem’ facing the UK economy right now
Speed Read Britain is currently in the grip of an ‘employment crisis’
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will the energy war hurt Europe more than Russia?
Speed Read European Commission proposes a total ban on Russian oil
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will Elon Musk manage to take over Twitter?
Speed Read The world’s richest man has launched a hostile takeover bid worth $43bn
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Shoppers urged not to buy into dodgy Black Friday deals
Speed Read Consumer watchdog says better prices can be had on most of the so-called bargain offers
By The Week Staff Published
-
Ryanair: readying for departure from London
Speed Read Plans to delist Ryanair from the London Stock Exchange could spell ‘another blow’ to the ‘dwindling’ London market
By The Week Staff Published
-
Out of fashion: Asos ‘curse’ has struck again
Speed Read Share price tumbles following the departure of CEO Nick Beighton
By The Week Staff Published
-
Universal Music’s blockbuster listing: don’t stop me now…
Speed Read Investors are betting heavily that the ‘boom in music streaming’, which has transformed Universal’s fortunes, ‘still has a long way to go’
By The Week Staff Published
-
EasyJet/Wizz: battle for air supremacy
Speed Read ‘Wizz’s cheeky takeover bid will have come as a blow to the corporate ego’
By The Week Staff Published