Are Chief Executives Overpaid?

Wages for the majority have been stagnant for decades, but a lucky few have enjoyed a pay bonanza. Top company bosses take home in several days as much as most people earn in a whole year. In this hard-hitting book, Deborah Hargreaves explains why pay for the top 0.1% has sky-rocketed in the past 20 years. She gives a devastating account of how it has created a vicious circle that destabilizes our economy and undermines social cohesion, demolishing the twisted logic of the chief executives who say: ‘I’m worth it’, when that means raking in £70m a year. A rigorous exposé of the dysfunctional nature of our ‘winner-takes-all’ economy, this book debunks the myths behind top pay and examines a range of pragmatic solutions.

Foreword vi 1 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? 1 2 Just Deserts? 28 3 Why Top Pay Matters 55 4 Corporate Governance Fights a Losing Battle 76 5 What Can Be Done? 95 Conclusion 124 Notes 128