Age of anger
GBP 5.89 MILLION. That’s the average annual pay package of a FTSE 100 CEO. And it’s a number that keeps soaring, up 64 per cent over the past three years. But those CEOs still feel sorry for themselves when they contrast their takings to those of the American tech bros: according to the Financial Times, SpaceX’s Elon Musk could earn $1 trillion if he meets his targets, while Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai is on track for $692m over three years.
News of CEO pay rises coincides with dire UN warnings of an imminent global food ‘catastrophe’ and the return of 30m people to poverty. Before the war, 266m people, primarily in low-income, conflict-hit countries were facing ‘acute food insecurity’. As uncertainty lingers across the Strait of Hormuz, petrol prices rise, fertiliser costs soar, poor farmers plant less and get worse yields, and more people go hungry. Up to 45m more, according to World Food Programme forecasts.
Pakistan, sadly, is among the 10 most food-insecure countries in the world. According to the UN food crises report, 9.3m Pakistanis are in “crisis” conditions, and a further 1.7m face a food “emergency”, the severe states of food deprivation just short of famine. These 2025 stats are driven by........
