South Africa’s best paid bosses
The Sunday Times recently revealed the wealthiest South African businessmen at the end of last year, with Swiss luxury goods company, Compagnie Financiere Richemont joint-CEO Bernard Fornas topping the list with a total annual pay package of R88 million.
Fornas received a salary of R46.3million for the year, along with a performance bonus of R33 million.
Second on the list was Investec CEO, Hendrik du Toit who received a R78-million bonus, along with a ‘modest’ salary of R7 million.
His employer, Investec, said the bonus was nothing out of the ordinary, adding that it was comparable to his peers abroad in the investment space.
BusinessTech has compiled a list of the top 10 paid bosses in South Africa according to their base salary – excluding performance bonus, as contained in the Sunday Times Rich List.
10 best paid executives in South Africa
| # | Executive | Company and role | Total basic earnings 2014 (R’000) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bernard Fornas | Co-CEO Richemont | R87 972 |
| 2 | Richard Lepeu | Co-CEO Richemont | R85 105 |
| 3 | Whitey Basson | CEO Shoprite | R49 972 |
| 4 | Kevin Gallagher | Operations director Murray & Roberts | R48.932 |
| 5 | Gary Saage | CFO Richemont | R28.447 |
| 6 | Alain Perrin | Non executive director Richemont | R27 076 |
| 7 | Markus Jooste | CEO Steinhoff | R25 026 |
| 8 | Ernesto Balarezo | Manager Gold Fields | R19.603 |
| 9 | *Frederick Mostert | Executive director Richemont | R19.210 |
| 10 | Alfred Baku | CEO Gold Fields | R18 634 |
*Frederick Mostert is no longer an Executive director of Richemont.
Interestingly, CEO at Gold Fields, Alfred Baku ranked 57th on the overall list of best paid executives in the country, having not received a performance bonus, while manager at the same company, Ernesto Balarezo, ranked 52nd.
10 highest paid executives including bonuses
| # | Executive | Company and role | Total earnings 2014 (R’000) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bernard Fornas | Co-CEO Richemont | R87 972 |
| 2 | Hendrik du Toit | Executive director Investec | R86 068 |
| 3 | Richard Lepeu | Co-CEO Richemont | R85 105 |
| 4 | Mark Cutifani | CEO Anglo American | R66 948 |
| 5 | David Hathorn | CEO Mondi | R66 840 |
| 6 | Nicandro Durante | CEO BAT | R59 466 |
| 7 | David Constable | CEO Sasol | R51 962 |
| 8 | Glyn Lewis | CEO Northam Platinum | R51 471 |
| 9 | Whitey Basson | CEO Shoprite | R49 972 |
| 10 | Alan Clark | CEO SAB Miller | R49 734 |
Richemont is a Swiss based company with a South African listing and therefore its executives are not paid in rands.
More on wealth in SA
Top 20 best paid executives in South Africa
What South African executives earn vs the world
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