Reckitt chief makes £23m — but he’ll pocket only £12m!

RECKITT Benckiser boss Rakesh Kapoor pocketed £12.5m last year – after he gave up half of his pay.

The chief executive could have earned £23m through bonuses but volunteered to take less, the company said yesterday.

It is the second year in a row he has seen his pay slashed and comes after Reckitt’s rapid sales growth evaporated.

It means the company has avoided a payout similar to the £23m Kapoor, 59, took home in 2015, to much criticism.

His lavish compensation package, including a £945,000 salary, still means he is one of the bestpaid bosses in the FTSE 100.

According to the High Pay Centre, the average FTSE chief’s pay was £4.5m in 2016. Reckitt, which makes Durex condoms and Lysol cleaners, said yesterday that Kapoor’s pay fell 18pc from £15.3m in 2016. Without the reduction in performance pay, he would have taken home £23.7m.

‘We recognised that 2017 was a challenging year,’ said Mary Harris, chairman of the company’s pay committee. Sales at Reckitt have been hurt because of a slowdown in its main consumer health business.