Shell investors approve chief's bumper pay deal

Shareholders in Royal Dutch Shell have voted overwhelmingly in favour of chief executive Ben van Beurden's £4.3 million pay packet at the oil giant's annual general meeting.

Shell boss Ben van Beurden saw his pay deal approved by investors. Picture: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

The firm’s remuneration report was approved by more than 86 per cent of proxy shareholders, despite a wave of investor unrest hitting several high-profile AGMs recently.

Investors had been urged to vote against the report in protest at van Beurden’s pay in 2015, even though it marked a significant reduction from the €24.2m (£18.6m) he was paid in 2014 in the wake of plunging profits and the falling oil price.

Shareholder advisor Pirc had argued he still earned 37 times the average employee’s pay, which it described as “unacceptable”.

BP shareholders recently voted to reject its remuneration report, which included a pay deal equivalent to £13.8m for boss Bob Dudley, while mining giant Anglo American has faced investor protests after 42 per cent of shareholders voted against chief executive Mark Cutifani’s £3.4m pay package.

Shell also faced questions regarding climate change, but van Beurden said adopting a renewable-only policy “would be strategically unwise”.