Guardian pay league top 10

Even though he’s not even a chief executive, Bob Diamond comfortably tops the Guardian Pay league. He collected his £22.9m for running Barclays Capital, its investment and fund management position. Nearly half his salary came from a performance-related bonus of £10.4m. Mr Diamond insists that his pay is fair as it is closely linked to his performance, and also claims there is no longer any jealousy within the bank. Photograph: Sarah Lee/Guardian

Bart Becht is the man behind Mr Sheen polish and Cillit Bang limescale remover. Slough-based Reckitt Benckiser paid its Dutch chief executive £17.7m last year.

Mr Becht keeps a low profile and does few interviews, saying he does not want to take credit away from his staff. Photograph: PR

Having been poached from Nomura to become become chief executive of Punch Taverns in January 2003 at the age of just 36, Giles Thorley is still one of the UK’s youngest CEOs. He received £11.2m last year - a time of growing profits for the pub chain, which broke into the FTSE 100 earlier this year. Photograph: PR

After more than 40 years, Lord Browne’s career at BP ended abruptly in May after he admitted lying to a court. He turned BP into a major player but also faced criticism for safety lapses. Lord Browne received £10.6m last year. Photograph: Dan Chung/Guardian

45-year old Trevor Reid (pictured, right, with CEO Mick Davis) is chief finance officer of Xstrata, the mining group that has grown rapidly in the past seven years through a series of acquisitions. He was paid £8.8m last year.

The pay packets handed out to Xstrata’s top execs have attracted attention before. But with its share price rocketing from around £10 in March 2005 to nearly £30 today, few shareholders are complaining. Photograph: PR

Douglas Flint, who picked up £7.9m last year, has worked for HSBC since 1995.

As the bank’s group finance director he has recently been defending its exposure to the US mortgage debacle. Photograph: Graham Turner/Guardian

Softly-spoken Stanley Fink is executive chairman of Man Group, the hedge fund manager, and earned £7.6m last year.

Man Group achieved record sales and pre-tax profits last year, on the back of the rapid growth in the hedge fund market. Photograph: Martin Argles/Guardian

Sir John Rose has been chief executive of Rolls Royce since 1996, and was paid £6.97m last year.

He led the company through the turmoil in the airline industry following September 11, and it now holds second place in the global aero engine market. In his spare time, Sir John restored an old sailing boat with fellow FTSE 100 boss Ted Tuppen, who runs the Enterprise Inns pub chain. Photograph: Martin Godwin/Guardian

Michael Spencer, chief executive of ICAP, is often described as the City’s richest man. The Sunday Times estimated his fortune at £803m by earlier this year, buoyed by this year’s £6.8m pay packet. Photograph: PR

As managing director for EMEA, Richard Hartman is responsible for a key portion of InterContinental’s hotel estate. He was paid £5.7m last year. Photograph: PR