BRITAIN’S wealthiest bosses have never had it so good as their average pay soared by 15.4 per cent to a record-breaking £5.91 million last year, according to the High Pay Centre.

Publishing its annual report on executive pay, the independent think tank found that among firms listed on the FTSE 100, CEOs’ median wage grew by 6.8 per cent.

Bosses were paid a whopping 122 times that of the median full-time worker (£37,430) in 2024-25.

The study also found that the number of FTSE 100 companies willing to lavish more than £10m a year on CEO pay rose from 10 to 13.

Peter Dilnott, head of aeronautics firm Melrose Industries, raked in £45.5m and BAE — riding high on arms sales to Israel and Keir Starmer’s “war economy” — splashed more than £11m on their chief, Charles Woodburn.

High Pay Centre’s Luke Hildyard said: “The contrast between the multimillion-pound pay awards for the CEOs of Britain’s biggest corporations and the wider economic uncertainty and social division across the country is really stark. 

“These figures will feed a growing sense that low and middle earners don’t get a fair share of the wealth that their work helps to create, while those at the top take much more than they merit or need.

“There’s convincing evidence that higher trade union membership reduces the pay gap between top bosses and the wider workforce, so proposals in the new Employment Rights Bill that could expand access to trade union representation are really good news. 

“The government now needs to make sure these measures are implemented in full, and supplemented by real voice for elected worker directors in company boardrooms.”

STUC general secretary Roz Foyer told the Star: “Workers deserve more than scraps from the table whilst FTSE 100 CEOs get the prime cuts; we need a radical redistribution of wealth that uplifts pay, terms and conditions across the board.

“The Employment Rights Bill can help. But that can only be the start. 

“Unless Labour ministers are prepared to stand up for workers and target the top 1 per cent through a wealth tax then this rampant inequality will continue to grow. 

“The ball is firmly within the Chancellor’s court for the upcoming Budget. 

“There can be no time for delay.”