Here are Canada's highest-paid CEOs
, BNN Bloomberg
Canada’s highest-paid CEOs come from a variety of industries, including telecommunications, fast food, auto parts and technology.
In 2022, Canada’s highest-earning CEOs took home average salaries of $14.9 million, marking a new record that’s 246 higher than the average Canadian worker’s annual earnings, according to a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
Here is a list of the 10 Canadian CEOs who took home the most pay in 2022:
1. J. Patrick Doyle, executive chairman of Restaurant Brands International
Doyle was in the top spot with $151,812,911 in total compensation for the year, which includes more than $100 million in share-based awards.
Restaurant Brands, the parent company of Tim Hortons, Burger King and Popeyes, also had the tenth highest-paid executive in 2022, with former CEO José Cil earning $22,188,911 in total compensation. Joshua Kobza replaced Cil as CEO in March 2023.
2. Matthew Proud, global CEO and director of the corporate software firm Dye and Durham.
Total compensation: $98,864,268
3. Magna International Inc. CEO Seetarama S. Kotagiri
Total compensation: $36,398,662
4. Tony Staffieri, president and CEO of Rogers Communications Inc.
Total compensation: $31,515,047
5. Mark J. Barrenechea, vice-chair, CEO and CTO of IT firm OpenText Corporation
Total compensation: $30,252,989
6. Tobias Lütke, CEO of Shopify Inc.
Total compensation: $26,026,203
7. Gary Berman, president and CEO of real estate company Tricon Residential Inc.
Total compensation: $25,781,356
8. Joseph C. Papa, former CEO of Bausch Health Companies Inc.
Total compensation $25,742,006
9. Irwin Simon, president, CEO and chairman of the board at cannabis company Tilray Brands Inc.
Total compensation: $25,319,091
10. José Cil, CEO of Restaurant Brands International Inc.
Total compensation: $22,188,911
With files from The Canadian Press
Canada's 100 highest-paid CEOs broke new compensation records in 2022: report
, The Canadian Press
Canada’s 100 highest-paid CEOs broke records with their compensation in 2022, according to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
“The data this year is breaking new all-time highs,” said senior economist David Macdonald.
The organization’s annual report found that the CEOs, most of them men, were paid an average of $14.9 million, up from an average of $14.3 million in 2021.
That’s $7,162 an hour, 246 times more than what the average Canadian worker makes. Before the second day of the new year is over, the average CEO has already made the average worker’s yearly salary, the report said.
That gap widened in 2022, as the average worker saw their pay rise three per cent while CEOs’ pay rose on average by 4.4 per cent. Meanwhile, prices rose by 6.8 per cent that year, the report said.
“This is very much related to what's happening to corporate profits in 2022, similar to what happened in 2021,” said Macdonald. “It is a similar story of inflation driving profits, profits driving bonuses, and CEOs reaping the rewards.”
CCPA has been tracking CEO pay for about a decade and a half, said MacDonald. In the early days of the report, CEOs were making closer to 150 times what the average made, he said.
Most CEO pay comes not in the form of salary but in bonuses, company shares and stock options, said Macdonald — in fact, some CEOs don’t have a salary at all.
Halfway through 2021, the stock-option tax deduction was capped at $200,000, noted Macdonald. Perhaps as a result, awarding shares has become a bigger part of CEO compensation recently, he said.
The report looks at the pay of current and former Canadian CEOs in 2022 as well as executive chairs, a position that outranks CEO.
Topping the list was executive chairman J. Patrick Doyle of Restaurant Brands International Inc., the CCPA report said.
Doyle, whose company owns Tim Hortons, Burger King and Popeyes, made $151.8 million in 2022, the report said. His pay came exclusively in the form of share-based and option-based awards.
Coming in second was CEO Matthew Proud of Dye & Durham Ltd., who brought in $98.9 million solely through option-based awards.
CEO Seetarama (Swamy) Kotagiri of Magna International Inc. was a distant third, making $36.4 million through a combination of his salary, share-based and option-based awards, and non-equity incentive plan compensation.
The list includes leaders from a variety of sectors including financial, technology, energy, telecom and health.
Only four of the top earners are women — the same number as people named "Mark" and "Scott," the report said.
“This is a boys’ club,” said Macdonald.
The gap between average CEO pay and average worker pay is highest in Ontario, which holds almost half the people on the top-100 list, Macdonald said. The highest-paid CEOs in Ontario make 298 times the average Ontario worker, at $18.5 million.
The report recommends making new top income tax brackets, removing the corporate deductibility of pay packages over $1 million, introducing a wealth tax and increasing the capital gains inclusion rate.
Even though executive compensation is supposed to be tied to company performance, the weakening economy in 2023 doesn’t necessarily mean CEO pay will have weakened in step, said Macdonald. Profits have been lower in 2023, but companies have historically found other reasons to compensate CEOs, he said.
“It’s tails, I win, heads, I also win.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 2, 2024.
Record-breaking CEO pay should spark tax discussion: researcher
BNN Bloomberg
An economics researcher says record-breaking CEO compensation figures should spark a conversation about tax policies affecting Canada’s highest corporate earners.
Canada’s highest-earning executives were paid 246 times more than the average worker in 2022, according to a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The top 100 CEOs took home average salaries of $14.9 million in 2022, setting a new record.
David Macdonald, senior economist with the CCPA and author of the report, told BNN Bloomberg many of the highest-earning CEOs fill most of their salaries with vast sums of share awards are meant to incentivize CEO performance.
However, Macdonald’s research showed that stocks at companies run by upper-echelon earners have largely declined over the past two years, suggesting high salaries don’t necessarily translate to better stock performance.
“Just because you’re paying your CEO top amounts, it might be good for them, but it’s not necessarily great for the shareholders,” Macdonald said in a Tuesday television interview.
TAX CONSIDERATIONS
The CCPA’s report found awarding shares to CEOs has emerged as the most popular pay option in recent years, as stock options and salaries have more tax implications.
Macdonald said he hopes the report raises alarm bells about tax incentives for the richest Canadians.
“I think a lot of Canadians are upset CEOs get paid so much and CEO work is valued so much more than the work of average workers,” Macdonald said.
“We don’t have to like it, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have to tax it and certainly we shouldn’t be giving tax subsidies to some of the richest people in the country.”
HIGH SALARIES REFLECT ‘UNIQUE TALENTS’: PROF
Ian Lee, an associate professor of management at Carleton University, made the case that CEOs are “superstars” in their fields and said their high compensation levels reflect their skills and expertise.
“There are some people with very, very unique talents, whether they’re Hollywood movie stars or musicians or football players or hockey players … or CEOs that have the very, very unique skills and they’re not substitutional,” Lee told BNNBloomberg.ca in a Tuesday phone interview.
“The vast majority of us are not Beyonce or Taylor Swift or Patrick Mahomes or Sidney Crosby.”
Musk leads world's richest to US$1.5 trillion wealth gain in 2023
, Bloomberg News
It was a comeback year for the world's wealthiest.
The combined net worth of the 500 richest people surged by US$1.5 trillion in 2023, fully rebounding from the $1.4 trillion lost the year prior, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Once again, their fortunes were closely correlated to the performance of tech stocks, which rose to fresh records this year despite recession fears, lingering inflation, lofty interest rates and geopolitical turmoil. Tech billionaires saw their wealth grow by 48 per cent or $658 billion, propelled by intense hype around artificial intelligence.
No one did better than Elon Musk, who recaptured the title of world's richest person from French luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault. The Tesla Inc. chief executive officer netted an additional $95.4 billion through Thursday's close, bolstered by the success of Tesla and SpaceX, after losing $138 billion in 2022. His net worth is now more than $50 billion above Arnault's after a global slowdown in demand for luxury goods dented shares of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE.
Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos added more than $70 billion to his wallet this year and is now neck-and-neck with Arnault for second place, while Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg's fortune jumped by more than $80 billion.
The rising tide left some boats behind. Indian billionaire Gautam Adani lost $21 billion on Jan. 27 alone – and $37.3 billion across the whole year – after short-seller Hindenburg Research tanked the value of the Adani Group. Nevertheless, he still possesses an 11-figure fortune.
LOOKING AHEAD
What does the world hold in store for the wealthiest people in 2024? While it's impossible to know for sure — few would have foreseen such a large rebound this year — here are some of the names to watch:
Miriam Adelson
Adelson, 78, became the majority shareholder of casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. after her husband Sheldon's death in 2021. After lying low for a time, Adelson this year reached a deal to buy a $3.5 billion majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks and courted Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley. Her net worth climbed to $34.3 billion.
Francoise Bettencourt Meyers
As the heir to the L'Oréal fortune, Bettencourt Meyers, 70, is the richest woman on the planet and the first to possess a 12-figure net worth. Bettencourt Meyers' success comes as a result of France's thriving beauty and fashion industries, which have also thrust LVMH's Arnault, Chanel's Wertheimer brothers and the Hermès family into the realm of the ultrawealthy. Her fortune surged 40 per cent this year as L'Oréal's shares climbed to a record high.
Steve Cohen
The founder of Point72 Asset Management is all in on New York dynasties — old and new. Cohen, 67, owns the News York Mets and is attempting to revitalize the baseball franchise after years of lackluster performance. He's also partnering with Hard Rock International in an attempt to secure one of the state's limited new casino licenses, giving beleaguered Mets fans the chance to gamble their sorrows away. His wealth rose to $13.9 billion in 2023.
Mark Cuban
Cuban, 65, has a knack for getting out at the right time, selling his radio-streaming website Broadcast.com shortly before the dot-com bubble burst. He purchased the Dallas Mavericks in 2000 for $285 million, winning three division titles, two conference championships and an NBA championship before flipping them to Adelson for $3.5 billion. (He'll keep a minority stake.) Whether this goes down as another well-timed Cuban sale remains to be seen. His fortune climbed to $6.8 billion this year.
Carl Icahn
It was a rough year for the activist investor after short-seller Hindenburg Research initiated a meltdown that wiped $18.1 billion from his fortune, including more than $10 billion in just one day. Still, 87-year-old Icahn has a lot of fight left in him. He intends to launch a new proxy battle to take control of Illumina Inc.'s board, according to people familiar with the matter, after the DNA-sequencing company terminated a costly acquisition that Icahn had criticized.
Rupert Murdoch
The 92-year-old News Corp. founder has officially retired, ceding control to his son, Lachlan. It's set to be a rocky year for the heir as candidates including Joe Biden and Donald Trump vie for the presidency again. Fox Corp. already settled with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million after the company accused the network of airing false claims that it rigged the vote against Trump. Fox still faces another lawsuit by Smartmatic Corp. in a similar case. The controversy hasn't dented Rupert Murdoch's net worth, which rose to $8.9 billion in 2023.
Masayoshi Son
The Japanese investor made a big bet on WeWork, which officially crumpled in 2023, and people are questioning his judgment after he continued to pour money into Adam Neumann's remote-work business even after it was clearly struggling. The SoftBank Group Corp. founder, 66, is likely to struggle further as deals dry up. But he's pulled himself out of deeper holes before, climbing back after losing tens of billions of dollars in the dot-com crash. Son's wealth fell to $11.4 billion this year.
Donald Trump
The former president and current candidate may have lost the 2020 election, but his wallet has only gained. His wealth has grown by $500 million since 2021, giving him a total net worth of $3.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Still, 2024 will be a battle for Trump, 77, as he defends himself in lawsuits related to his defamation of author E. Jean Carroll, alleged fraud as well as his attempts to overturn the 2020 election – all while running for president.
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao
In many ways it was a rough year for the 46-year-old founder of Binance, the world's biggest crypto exchange. In November, CZ and Binance pleaded guilty to money laundering and U.S. sanctions violations. He agreed to step down as CEO and personally pay a $50 million fine in addition to the $4.3 billion Binance will have to fork over. Still, the rebound in crypto boosted CZ's wealth by nearly $25 billion this year, even as he may be headed to jail in 2024.
, Bloomberg News
It was a comeback year for the world's wealthiest.
The combined net worth of the 500 richest people surged by US$1.5 trillion in 2023, fully rebounding from the $1.4 trillion lost the year prior, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Once again, their fortunes were closely correlated to the performance of tech stocks, which rose to fresh records this year despite recession fears, lingering inflation, lofty interest rates and geopolitical turmoil. Tech billionaires saw their wealth grow by 48 per cent or $658 billion, propelled by intense hype around artificial intelligence.
No one did better than Elon Musk, who recaptured the title of world's richest person from French luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault. The Tesla Inc. chief executive officer netted an additional $95.4 billion through Thursday's close, bolstered by the success of Tesla and SpaceX, after losing $138 billion in 2022. His net worth is now more than $50 billion above Arnault's after a global slowdown in demand for luxury goods dented shares of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE.
Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos added more than $70 billion to his wallet this year and is now neck-and-neck with Arnault for second place, while Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg's fortune jumped by more than $80 billion.
The rising tide left some boats behind. Indian billionaire Gautam Adani lost $21 billion on Jan. 27 alone – and $37.3 billion across the whole year – after short-seller Hindenburg Research tanked the value of the Adani Group. Nevertheless, he still possesses an 11-figure fortune.
LOOKING AHEAD
What does the world hold in store for the wealthiest people in 2024? While it's impossible to know for sure — few would have foreseen such a large rebound this year — here are some of the names to watch:
Miriam Adelson
Adelson, 78, became the majority shareholder of casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. after her husband Sheldon's death in 2021. After lying low for a time, Adelson this year reached a deal to buy a $3.5 billion majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks and courted Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley. Her net worth climbed to $34.3 billion.
Francoise Bettencourt Meyers
As the heir to the L'Oréal fortune, Bettencourt Meyers, 70, is the richest woman on the planet and the first to possess a 12-figure net worth. Bettencourt Meyers' success comes as a result of France's thriving beauty and fashion industries, which have also thrust LVMH's Arnault, Chanel's Wertheimer brothers and the Hermès family into the realm of the ultrawealthy. Her fortune surged 40 per cent this year as L'Oréal's shares climbed to a record high.
Steve Cohen
The founder of Point72 Asset Management is all in on New York dynasties — old and new. Cohen, 67, owns the News York Mets and is attempting to revitalize the baseball franchise after years of lackluster performance. He's also partnering with Hard Rock International in an attempt to secure one of the state's limited new casino licenses, giving beleaguered Mets fans the chance to gamble their sorrows away. His wealth rose to $13.9 billion in 2023.
Mark Cuban
Cuban, 65, has a knack for getting out at the right time, selling his radio-streaming website Broadcast.com shortly before the dot-com bubble burst. He purchased the Dallas Mavericks in 2000 for $285 million, winning three division titles, two conference championships and an NBA championship before flipping them to Adelson for $3.5 billion. (He'll keep a minority stake.) Whether this goes down as another well-timed Cuban sale remains to be seen. His fortune climbed to $6.8 billion this year.
Carl Icahn
It was a rough year for the activist investor after short-seller Hindenburg Research initiated a meltdown that wiped $18.1 billion from his fortune, including more than $10 billion in just one day. Still, 87-year-old Icahn has a lot of fight left in him. He intends to launch a new proxy battle to take control of Illumina Inc.'s board, according to people familiar with the matter, after the DNA-sequencing company terminated a costly acquisition that Icahn had criticized.
Rupert Murdoch
The 92-year-old News Corp. founder has officially retired, ceding control to his son, Lachlan. It's set to be a rocky year for the heir as candidates including Joe Biden and Donald Trump vie for the presidency again. Fox Corp. already settled with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million after the company accused the network of airing false claims that it rigged the vote against Trump. Fox still faces another lawsuit by Smartmatic Corp. in a similar case. The controversy hasn't dented Rupert Murdoch's net worth, which rose to $8.9 billion in 2023.
Masayoshi Son
The Japanese investor made a big bet on WeWork, which officially crumpled in 2023, and people are questioning his judgment after he continued to pour money into Adam Neumann's remote-work business even after it was clearly struggling. The SoftBank Group Corp. founder, 66, is likely to struggle further as deals dry up. But he's pulled himself out of deeper holes before, climbing back after losing tens of billions of dollars in the dot-com crash. Son's wealth fell to $11.4 billion this year.
Donald Trump
The former president and current candidate may have lost the 2020 election, but his wallet has only gained. His wealth has grown by $500 million since 2021, giving him a total net worth of $3.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Still, 2024 will be a battle for Trump, 77, as he defends himself in lawsuits related to his defamation of author E. Jean Carroll, alleged fraud as well as his attempts to overturn the 2020 election – all while running for president.
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao
In many ways it was a rough year for the 46-year-old founder of Binance, the world's biggest crypto exchange. In November, CZ and Binance pleaded guilty to money laundering and U.S. sanctions violations. He agreed to step down as CEO and personally pay a $50 million fine in addition to the $4.3 billion Binance will have to fork over. Still, the rebound in crypto boosted CZ's wealth by nearly $25 billion this year, even as he may be headed to jail in 2024.
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