Woman named as highest paid CEO in Australia for first time ever
A woman has been named the highest paid CEO in Australia for the first time in history.
57-year-old Macquarie Group Chief Executive Shemara Wikramanayake earned a staggering $18 million throughout the last financial year.
The former corporate lawyer earned $5 million more than the next corporate boss and is just one of four women to make the top 50 in OpenDirector's annual CEO pay report for the Australian Financial Review.
Wikramanayake is the daughter of Sri Lankan migrant and earned a base salary of $722,000 - however it was her remuneration package that swelled with performance bonuses and share options.
Shockingly, the big boss earns over $346,000 a week which is more than 211 times the average Australian full-time worker's $85,000 salary.
Not only is she the highest earning female in Australian history, she was also made the Macquarie Group’s first-ever female managing director last year.
She was first hired in 1987 and had previously worked for the company in nine cities across the globe.
The three other to make the top 50 list included Coca-Cola Amatil CEO Alison Watkins, who raked in $4.1million, Mirvac Group's Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz on $4.8million and Fortescue Metals boss Elizabeth Gaines on $5million.
In 2019 the 57-year-old was also named one of Fortune's 'Most Powerful Women' for her work on climate change and role with the World Bank's Global Commission on Adaptation.