Kenya’s Top-Earning CEOs Making Billions From Working Jobs

You do not have to have a business to become rich.

I know, it sounds untrue or rather impractical given the bad state of our country’s economy. It is a popular belief that for you to have a lot of money, you need to either have something on the side apart from employment; a business, or, step down from your job and fully do business.

The many Chief Executive Officers in Kenya, however, have proven that this is not necessarily the truth. Apart from earning millions as their monthly basic salary, they also get to bank a chunk of cash from bonuses.

CEOs make a lot of money from the bonuses; the basic salary comes to just a fraction of their total earnings.

They are making this much because they knew the importance of applying their specialized skills to improving the companies’ performance.

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Here are top Kenya’s CEOs who make their billions from working jobs.

1.Gideon Muriuki Co-op Bank CEO

The Co-op bank chief executive in 2018 earned an annual pay of sh376.4 million, which equates to earning a million per day. According to the bank’s latest annual report, his total earnings were split into a bonus of sh271 million and a salary of sh105.4 million.

Mr. Muriuki has been credited for helping the company rise from making losses since he took office in 2001 making it the third-largest bank in the country by asset size.

2.Joshua Oigara KCB Bank Group CEO

The chief executive officer earned a basic salary of sh68 million and a bonus of sh180 million in 2018 when he was reappointed to the position.

KCB bank paid him an additional sh10 million in allowances, sh14 million in gratuity and a non-cash benefit of sh1 million amounting to a total of sh273 million.

The bank’s profit grew by 20 percent in the same year he was reappointed and this resulted in him earning the bonuses.

3.James Mwangi Equity Bank CEO

Mwangi, the Equity bank CEO, earned sh56 million constantly between 2018 and 2019. This, as explained by the bank’s report, is because their remuneration scheme does not entail sitting allowances for the CEOS.

The bank’s CEO, however, owns sh128 million shares in the Equity group, giving him a 3.3 percent stake in the company.

4.James Mworia Centum CEO

He has in the past been named among the best-paid CEOs in Kenya on the back of lucrative bonus policy his investment company offers.

In 2017, James made sh211.48 million which translated to a daily pay of sh17.6 million a month.

5.Benson Waigeri Britam CEO

The Britam boss earned sh81.6 million up to December in the year 2018. He was not paid any bonuses making the total earning he made, comprised of basic salary and allowances.

He is also a shareholder at Britam where he has a 4 percent stake worth sh100.8 million shares.

He is entitled to a performance bonus which is based on meeting specific targets and also car benefits, residential security and house, medical covers, and, loans at staff rates.

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In conclusion,

These are just some of the many Chief Executive Officers in Kenya who earn billions monthly. One common thing they all have is their bonuses increase following their performance. The more profits they make their companies, the more they earn. Let no one tell you the only way to make it is to start a business. All you need to do is build on your skills, be the best at what you do and you might just be the next top-earning CEO.

The story is adapted from the Standard newspaper’s FS cover story.