New study on income of top managers

According to a study published in autumn 2001, the overall annual income of 'top managers' in leading German multinational companies (including basic remuneration, bonus payments and stock options) varied between EUR 11.08 million and EUR 1.14 million in 2000.

A recent study by the consulting and accounting company Arthur Andersen finds that the income of 'top managers' in Germany has seen significant increases in recent years, to the extent that it has almost reached the levels of equivalent managers in Anglo-Saxon countries. The study analyses the income of board members at 10 leading German multinational companies - see the table below.

In 2000, the basic annual remuneration plus bonus payments of these managers varied between EUR 7.93 million at Deutsche Bank and EUR 0.78 million at the Münchner Rück insurance group. In addition, all companies involved in the study provided generous stock options for their top managers varying between EUR 3.15 million at Deutsche Bank and 0.28 million at Metro (retail). In total, members of the board at Deutsche Bank received the highest income at EUR 11.08 million each in 2000.

Source: Arthur Andersen 2001 quoted from Handelsblatt, 5 November 2001.

The Andersen study was carried out on behalf of the UK-based mobile phone group, Vodafone AirTouch, which had been strongly criticised in Germany because it gave a severance payment of DEM 60 million to the former chair of Mannesmann AG after its takeover of this German telecommunications and engineering group (DE0003248N). The Andersen study has now found that this severance payment is only in a 'upper middle-range position', compared with severance payments provided by leading German multinationals.