The compensation of CEOs of the 200 largest public companies in South Africa increased by 9% by February of this year, although most of this growth was driven by premiums and shares rather than base salaries.
According to PwC's annual report on director remuneration and trends, covering the 12 months up to February 28, 2026, the median total remuneration for JSE Top 200 executives reached 23.2 million rand. The Chief Financial Officer's salary grew by 7%, amounting to 13.5 million rand.
Fixed pay remained largely unchanged: the median guaranteed total pay, including salary and cash value of benefits, rose by 6% to 8.8 million rand for CEOs and by 1% to 5.6 million rand for CFOs.
Incentives made the main contribution. Annual bonuses jumped by 42% to a median of 9.2 million rand for CEOs and by 39% to 5.4 million rand for CFOs. Long-term incentives, which usually consist of shares earned over several years, increased by 67% to a median of 9.8 million rand for CEOs and by 54% to 4.9 million rand for CFOs.
PwC explains this growth due to stronger company performance and favorable distribution of incentive compensation. The firm warns that the composition of companies in the sample changes annually, so the observed changes reflect trends, not an identical increase.
The top end significantly exceeds the median: the average package for a CEO was 37.8 million rand, and a quarter of CEOs earned more than 44.9 million rand.
New benefits: armored vehicles and cyber protection
The report also describes additional perks that companies provide when they cannot meet market salaries. PwC notes that at the highest levels, this includes 'personal and family security, if the risk profile requires it, such as armored vehicles, home security, and protection against digital and cyber threats.'
The report does not specify how many companies offer digital protection to executives or what exactly it covers. The threat is growing as criminals use artificial intelligence tools to convincingly impersonate others, including senior executives.
Shareholders largely approved these increases. No remuneration policy and only 0.6% of implementation reports indicating actual compensation were rejected by the majority of shareholders, compared to 1.2% and 5.4% the previous year. Proposed fees for non-executive directors received 99.4% support.
The next round of votes will carry more weight. Amendments to the Companies Act, effective May 22, give shareholders voting rights on remuneration policies and compensation reports, and require expanded disclosure on the pay gap between executives and other employees.