Best-paid ASX200 executives revealed by Australian Council of Superannuation Investors

Australia’s ASX200 bosses took home bigger bonuses last year but were still out-earned by a growing number of US-based chief executives who pocketed as much as $48 million in pay.

The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors’ annual pay study shows US-domiciled bosses of ASX-listed companies accounted for half of the ASX200’s 10 best paid chief executives in the 2025 financial year, with family tracking app Life360’s Chris Hulls topping the table.

California-based Mr Hulls’ reported cash pay for the year was $US1.06 million, but his actual or realised pay was $47.7m after Life360’s rising share price increased the value of his vested stock incentives.

Likewise, Genesis Minerals boss Raleigh Finlayson was WA’s best-paid chief executive on $15.1m — his reported pay was $3.8m — after exercising millions of cheap options awarded on his appointment in 2021 into the gold miner’s rocketing share price.

While increased investor scrutiny has reined in executive pay in Australia in recent years, average pay for the country’s 100 most powerful bosses still rose 5.2 per cent in 2025 to a four-high year of $6m. That’s 55 times the average Australian adult’s pay, or more than $16,000 a day.

As a result of the pressure from shareholders and proxy advisers, CEO pay is usually now weighted less to a fixed salary and more to performance-based cash and stock bonuses.

However, ACSI has long complained that cash bonuses, in particular, are too easy to earn because of weak performance targets set by company boards for their bosses.

Just five of ASX100 chief executives missed out on a bonus last year. And those who did qualify for a reward received nearly 71 per cent of their maximum incentive.

“There is still work to do (on businesses),” ACSI chief executive Louise Davidson said.

“Aside from COVID-19’s 2020, every year for the past 11 has seen ASX100 CEOs receive a median bonus of between 60 per cent and 77 per cent of maximum bonus levels,” Ms Davidson said.

The ACSI focus on realised or take-home pay captures the market value of performance-linked stock rewards that actually vest with the bosses. It is seen as a more accurate measure of executive pay than reported or statutory pay, which only records the accounting value of the stock when it is issued.

Two other US-based bosses rounded out the top-five highest paid for 2025 — ResMed’s Mick Farrell ($35.2m) and News Corp’s Robert Thomson ($33.6m).

Sigma’s Vikesh Ramsunder was the best-paid, Australian-domiciled chief, taking home $32.6m after his company’s powerhouse merger with Chemist Warehouse in February 2025. ACSI said Mr Ramsunder’s pay was boosted by $25.8m from vesting equity incentives after the tie-up.

Macquarie’s Shemara Wikramanayake — the only woman in the top-20 — earned $30.4m and Wesfarmers’ Rob Scott took home $11.9m.

Seven ASX100 chief executives received $2.5m or more in fixed, cash pay, including BHP’s Mike Henry, Wesfarmers’ Mr Scott, CBA’s Matt Comyn, CSL’s Paul McKenzie and NAB’s Andrew Irvine.

Illustrating the pay difference between ASX100 and ASX200 companies, Eagers Automotive’s Keith Thornton was the only other ASX200 boss outside the ASX100 to take home more than $2m in fixed pay.

The ACSI audit also revealed that termination payouts for ASX100 bosses blew out during the year, to a cumulative $18.6m from a sharply lower $8.4m in 2024, as nine bosses quit.

ACSI, however, said the increase in average payments to $2.2m from $1.4m was largely due to former Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm’s $5.9m payout. Westpac’s Peter King, Ramsay Health Care’s Craig McNally and Fortescue Mark Hutchison also pocketed $2m or more on the way out.

Termination payments can include severance and the accelerated vesting of equity incentives. However, changes made to the Corporations Act in 2009 restricted the ability of boards to pay departing executives more than 12 months’ fixed pay without shareholder approval.