Indra Nooyi claims she has ‘never, ever, ever’ asked for a raise – and finds the whole idea cringeworthy
Money is so tacky, darling, don’t you think? Indra Nooyi, who was one of the highest-paid CEOs in the world during her tenure at PepsiCo, certainly seems to take that view. In an interview this month with the New York Times’ magazine, Nooyi bragged that she has “never, ever, ever asked for a raise”. Her underlings at PepsiCo apparently used to ask her to demand one, because their compensation was pegged to hers, but Nooyi refused to be so grubby. “I find it cringeworthy,” the 65-year-old opined. “I cannot imagine working for somebody and saying my pay is not enough.”
Isn’t it funny how the only people who think money isn’t important are the ones who have gobs of it? Nooyi is right that she didn’t need a rise: she earned $31m (£23m) in her final year as PepsiCo’s CEO. By one calculation, she was paid 650 times more than the company’s average employee. She is now on the board of Amazon, which isn’t exactly known for providing a utopian working environment where employees gush about how much they are paid. Meanwhile, income inequality has jumped to record levels. If Nooyi can’t imagine how someone can say they are not being paid enough, she must have an incredibly poor imagination.
