Britain’s highest paid CEO in 2014 (he earned £42.98 million in a single year) Sir Martin Sorrell is the CEO of the advertising giant WPP. Born on Valentine’s Day 1945, twice married and a father of three, Harvard educated Sorrell is also a non-executive director of Formula One and previously had a “close working relationship” with Maurice and Charles Saatchi. A plagiarism of a Bill Shankly quote sits on his desk. It reads: “WPP is a not a matter of life or death, it’s more important than that”.
Two stories to keep beside you
Leslie Wexner (AKA “Les” Wexner)
Worth some £5 billion, Leslie Wexner has been described as “very shy” and “certainly not the showing off type of American”.
Hetty Green (AKA Henrietta Green, ‘The Witch of Wall Street,’ née Henrietta Robinson, 1834 – 1916)
“The greatest miser” and “richest woman in America” during the Gilded Age, Hetty Green lived by the rule of “buy cheap and sell dear.” Known for her appalling personal hygiene and ragged dresses, Green inherited £4.5 million or the equivalent of £555 million today ($729 million, €651 million or درهم2.6 billion today) in 1865 from […]
Readers have their say
4 comments
Had a look at the website. Its really Mickey Mouse. You would expect a slick and extraordinary website on a level with his pay scale. Wonder what constitutes a £42.98 million pounds salary in one single year anyhow?
Personally, I don’t care for Sorrell and it has much more to do with him once saying that he had been the subject of anti semitism. It was never anti semitism: most civilised Jews I know think he’s a shit.
But, this is the reality. From literally a wire basket case of a company Sorrell has built the world’s largest marketing group.
If I was a shareholder I would be very grateful to this unpleasant man and not begrudge him a penny.
Without Sorell there would be no WPP…and incidentally, the third brother bit was applied to Tim Bell not Sorrell.
I agree Peter. WPP shareholders are deservedly pleased with his stewardship. You are also correct about Tim. Where we part company is Sorrell himself. I’ve had both business and social dealings with him. I found him hard, sharp but often pleasant and amusing
Glenmore
You are probably right about him on a personal basis. I think those who sell to him find him a pill, but that’s probably because have had their cake as a payout, but still want to run their companies their way.
American entreprenurial company bosses take out far more out than Sorrell