For most chief executives of the 40 DAX-listed companies, 2025 proved to be a lucrative year. According to an analysis by Reuters of corporate remuneration reports, 26 CEOs saw their pay increase - in some cases significantly - while only nine faced cuts. Five others took office during the course of the year. The most notable surge was recorded by Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing. His compensation was bolstered by the first vesting of long-term bonuses awarded since he took the helm in 2018. This propelled his "granted and owed remuneration" to nearly 15.7 million euros, up from 6.1 million euros in 2024.

Sewing thus jumped to second place behind SAP CEO Christian Klein, who retained the top spot with 16.2 million euros, despite a decrease from the 19.0 million euros he received previously. Siemens CEO Roland Busch moved up to third place, with his pay rising to 12.3 million euros from 9.4 million euros.

The number of DAX CEOs earning in the double-digit millions remained steady at six. However, only three - Klein, Allianz CEO Oliver Bäte, and Deutsche Telekom's Tim Höttges - maintained their positions within this elite circle. Auto executives Ola Källenius (Mercedes-Benz) and Oliver Blume (Volkswagen) both saw their pay docked by approximately 30 percent, reflecting the ongoing crisis in the German automotive industry. Nevertheless, they remained ahead of BMW CEO Oliver Zipse, despite a 15 percent increase in his remuneration.

Meanwhile, Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger saw his earnings skyrocket to 10.2 million euros - two and a half times his previous year's pay - on the back of the defense industry boom, catapulting him to sixth place. This figure does not even account for the capital appreciation of his Rheinmetall shareholdings.

GENEROUS EXIT PACKAGES FOR VONOVIA CEO BUCH

The largest paydays for DAX board members often occur when they depart the company, whether voluntarily or otherwise. Such premature departures were particularly lucrative for two CEOs: Nikolai Setzer, who left auto supplier Continental at the end of 2025, received a severance payment of nearly 4.8 million euros, bringing his total compensation to 9.9 million euros.

While Bochum-based residential property giant Vonovia did not explicitly disclose the exact severance figure for CEO Rolf Buch in its remuneration report, the annual report notes aggregate severance payments of 5.8 million euros for former board members. It is confirmed that Buch received 3.3 million euros on top of his regular salary as part of a non-compete agreement. This brings his cash total to nearly 8.2 million euros. Additionally, he was granted Vonovia shares upon his departure, currently valued at approximately 4.5 million euros.

Of the 40 DAX leaders, 24 surpassed the six-million-euro threshold last year, compared to just 16 a year earlier. To rank in the top half of the best-paid DAX CEOs, an executive needed to earn nearly 6.7 million euros, whereas less than six million euros sufficed in 2024. However, these increases only partially reflect the past year's performance. The "granted and owed remuneration" figures include base salaries and annual bonuses as well as long-term incentives maturing in 2025, which were originally awarded for performance in prior years.

The highest-paid non-CEO in the DAX in 2025 also came from Deutsche Bank: CFO James von Moltke. Similar to Christian Sewing, the vesting of numerous long-term bonuses drove his compensation to 11.3 million euros, a figure that would have placed him sixth in the CEO rankings.

(Report by Alexander Hübner, edited by Sabine Wollrab. For inquiries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and economics) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)