 | The Money Grab Saturday, 1 August 2009 at 1204 BST On Radio 4 and Online |
In the first of a two-part series, Alvin Hall explores the rise in corporate pay and bonus culture. Over the last quarter of a century, the world of global finance has provided unprecedented opportunities to get rich. Last year, in London alone over £2.6bn was paid in bonuses, with thousands of individuals taking home £1m or more as their annual reward. With critics claiming this excess is in part to blame for the recent financial crisis, governments around the world are now threatening to enforce restraint on executive pay. Alvin Hall explores the events which created this bonus bonanza and asks how salaries came to reach such stratospheric levels? Speaking to City insiders, he reveals how the square mile transformed from gentleman's club to a meritocratic market of greed, where the appetite for more and more money gripped those working in it. Bankers and brokers tell of the tactics employed to up their pay, as companies fought for the top talent from across the globe … but were they really worth it? Alvin Hall is joined by: John McFall MP, Chair of the Treasury Select Committee David Buik, BGC Partners David Charters, author of "At Bonus Time No-One Can Hear You Scream" and "Trust Me, I'm a Banker" Hugo Dixon, Editor-in-Chief of BreakingViews.Com Professor Scott Schaefer, Economist, University of Utah The programme was broadcast on Saturday, 1 August at 1204 BST and repeated on Wednesday, 5 August at 1502 BST.
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When I received my first million pound bonus ... I ... nodded and said 'it's not the number I had in mind, but let me think about it'.
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