Bosses are being paid more, but the bigger story for prospect research is the run of deals and flotations about to put cash in founders' hands. Rio Tinto's chief executive is in line for a 56% rise, and FTSE 100 median CEO pay is up to £5.1m. Anthropic's IPO (possibly the week of 16 November), LSEG's $3.5bn purchase of Octus and Nscale's US float are all coming up!
It has been a fairly quiet month on executive pay, but the main takeaways for October are:
Elon Musk (CEO, Tesla): Tesla's proxy filing on 19 October valued his 2025 pay at about $158bn, all of it in shares. The SEC's "actually paid" figure is $10.4bn. (Forbes)
Simon Trott (CEO, Rio Tinto): Rio has proposed lifting his target pay 56% to £9.8m, with a maximum of £18.3m.
Glass Lewis says almost 60% of FTSE 350 companies are proposing pay rises. (Reuters via SRN News). FTSE 100 overall: puts median CEO pay at £5.1m, up from £4.6m.
Tufan Erginbilgic, Rolls-Royce's CEO, could reach £18.5m. (Irish Times)
Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca's CEO, received a £17.7m award (City AM)
Satya Nadella (CEO, Microsoft): His pay was $90.6m, down 6% on the year. (The Register)
Deals and IPOs
This is where people actually get paid. Takeovers and floats are the moments founders and early shareholders turn paper wealth into cash.
Anthropic (Nasdaq: ANT): The company filed its S-1 on 26 October, with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley leading 22 banks. The Wall Street Journal reports a listing as early as the week of 16 November, possibly raising $100bn or more at a $1.5–2tn valuation. The seven co-founders hold a single share carrying 50.1% of the votes, and each has reportedly pledged 80% of their personal equity to charity.
LSEG and Octus: London Stock Exchange Group has agreed to buy the US credit-data firm Octus for about $3.5bn, paying Permira funds and Octus management. Kent Collier, Octus's founder and CEO, is among those who benefit.
Nscale (NYSE: NSCL): The UK AI cloud company filed for a US IPO on 18 September, with no price range or date yet. Its boss reportedly received £17.2m.
Vesuvius: RHI Magnesita is weighing an offer, with a deadline of 24 November. Cevian, Vesuvius's biggest shareholder, backs it. (RHI Magnesita statement)
London listings: Only one IPO took place in London in the third quarter, and EY expects most UK floats to wait until 2027.
What this means for prospect researchers
1. Look past the headline number. Granted, maximum and realised pay are very different things. Vesting dates tell you more about when someone might have capacity to give.
2. Follow the shares, not the salary. Long-term incentives make up over half of FTSE 100 packages, so share-price moves and vesting events drive wealth.
3. Flag the liquidity events now. Add the founders, early staff and investors at Anthropic, Octus, Nscale and Vesuvius to your watch list, and re-screen once the deals complete or lock-ups expire.
4. Keep an eye on charitable pledges. The Anthropic co-founders' reported 80% pledges could open up giving conversations.
5. Don't assume pay deals will pass. Rio Tinto's pay policy goes to a shareholder vote, and Joshua Schulman, Burberry's CEO, saw 37% vote against his package.
6. Check the filings. Confirm figures against the remuneration report, proxy statement or prospectus before they go into a profile.
Any questions, please drop us an email team@pyro.solutions
Thanks
Jon
