The members of the management boards of companies listed in the German Stock Index (DAX) earned an average of 24 percent more in 2021 than in the previous year. This is the result of the annual comparative study by the TUM Chair of Controlling headed by Prof. Gunther Friedl and the Deutsche Schutzvereinigung für Wertpapierbesitz (DSW).

According to the study, the members of the Executive Board received an average of 3.9 million euros. This is 53 times the average earnings of their employees. In previous years, the incomes of Executive Board members had fallen three times in succession.

In the ranking of top compensation, Linde is in first place with average compensation of 8.8 million euros. Qiagen follows in second place and Deutsche Bank in third. The three companies with the strongest increase in compensation were Adidas, Covestro and MTU, where compensation rose by up to 190 percent year-on-year. The most negative development was recorded by the board members of Delivery Hero with minus 11 percent.

Women on the board earn more than men

According to Prof. Gunther Friedl, the salary differences between male and female board members differ: "It turns out that male board members - not including CEOs - earn an average of 3.5 million euros, less than their female colleagues, who earn 3.6 million euros. Nevertheless, at around 20 percent, the proportion of female board members still leaves considerable room for improvement."

According to the study, the top earner among DAX CEOs is Steve Angel of Linde with 19 million euros. Herbert Diess of Volkswagen came in second with 12 million euros, passing 2020 runner-up Christian Klein of SAP, who earned 9 million euros in 2021. On average, the CEOs of DAX companies received 6.1 million euros.

Since its publication, the study has been published throughout the media. The German business newspaper Handelsblatt broadly presented the results: Read here.