Who Is Denise Coates?
Denise Coates created the online betting company Bet365 in 2000 with a £15 million loan. Over the past 24 years, she has built the company into a worldwide sensation now worth an almost unbelievable $4.02 billion.
Source: @Denise Coates/Facebook
Coates remains the CEO and majority shareholder in her wildly successful company, and it was recently released that she received a $280 million salary last year. Not to mention the $63.7 million she made off her shares, and the $127.4 million she raked in thanks to dividends.
Coates Is One of the Highest Paid CEOs in the World
In total, Denise Coates brought home about $344 million in just one year, which makes her one of the highest paid CEOs on the planet.
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However, Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google and Alphabet, isn’t far behind. Last year, his compensation package was a cool $226 million, only a slight decrease for the $281 million he made in 2019.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Is Next in Line
Satya Nadella was appointed as Microsoft’s CEO in 2014, and has since accumulated a net worth of more than $1 billion.
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His salary with the tech conglomerate increased from $49.8 million in 2021 to $54.9 million in 2022, but the CEO also makes a significant part of his income as a company shareholder.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy Only Made $1.3 Million
Andy Jassy, Amazon’s famous CEO, apparently made only $1.3 million in 2022. However, that was just his salary.
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According to sources, when the CEO was hired in 2021, he received $212.7 million in Amazon stock, which can be vested over the course of 10 years. So he’s actually making much more in the long run.
What Does Mark Zuckerberg Make in a Year?
Many people are surprised to learn that Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s annual salary is only $1, not to mention the fact that Zuckerberg doesn’t take part in his company’s bonus scheme.
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However, Zuckerberg is worth a whopping $142 billion thanks to his ownership stake in Facebook.
Meta Has Publicly Said that Zuckerberg Makes Plenty of Money
A spokesperson for Meta explained that Zuckerberg doesn’t receive an annual salary or millions or even receive additional equity in Meta, simply because his ownership position gives him all the money he could possibly need.
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They reported, “[the business’] compensation, nominating, and governance committee [believes] that his existing equity ownership position sufficiently [continue] to align his interests with those of our shareholders.”
Denise Coates Earns More Than Her Country’s Prime Minister
Politicians certainly make more money than the average person, but their salaries are nothing compared to what tech giants like Denise Coates and Satya Nadella take home in a year.
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In fact, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak receives only $252,700 every year for leading the nation, which is a mere fraction of what Coates takes home.
Why Is Denise Coates Paycheck so Incredibly High?
Since Denise Coates’ salary and shareholder income was released to the public, and then consequently compared to other high-earning CEOs and even the leader of her country, many are wondering: Why is Denise Coates paid so much?
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At the end of the day, it’s up to Coates, as well as the other executives at Bet365, to decide who gets paid what. But since the mega-company has yet to respond to the newest information about the founder’s salary, no one can say for sure why she makes so much more than most other CEOs.
Bet365 Reported a $76 Million Loss Last Year
What’s especially interesting among financial experts about Coates’ 2023 salary is that Bet365 reported $76 million worth of losses that same year.
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Some even argue that Coates is the perfect example of corporate greed. A spokesperson from High Pay Centre responded to her almost unbelievable salary, saying, “Pouring hundreds of millions of pounds more on top of billionaire fortunes every year isn’t a good way to maximize living standards and it over-values the contribution that the super-rich have made.”
As Stock Prices Drop, CEOs Like Coates Lose Big
It’s important to understand that every CEO on this list, including Denise Coates, makes a large part of their yearly income from the shares they own in their respective companies.
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And that means that their incomes are directly correlated to how well the share prices are doing; as prices decrease, CEOs can and do lose millions in just one year.
Experts Believe Coates Will Make Less Next Year
Because Bet365 is currently struggling, financial experts believe that this is exactly what will happen to Denise Coates in 2024.
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In fact, Bloomberg expects her entire fortune to plummet by 40% this year. Which means Coates’ time as one of the richest CEOs in the world may be very short lived.