Fatcat Shell boss gets obscene £4.7m boost from Iran war fallout as British households battle soaring bills

Fatcat Shell boss gets obscene £4.7m boost from Iran war fallout as British households battle soaring bills EXCLUSIVE: The chief executive of Shell has seen the value of his shareholding soar since the Middle East war erupted, as the energy giant announced a new near record £8.1billion profit haul Energy giant Shell’s fatcat boss has enjoyed a £4.7million boost since the start of the Iran war - as the crisis hammering households helped the firm rake in profits of £60,000 a minute in the past three months. Analysis by Greenpeace revealed chief executive Wael Sawan is among the winners of the multinational’s share price soaring by more than a quarter since Donald Trump and Israel’s war with Iran erupted at the end of February. The rise - over a period when the wider FTSE 100 stock market fell - meant the value of his sizeable shareholders surged too. The 52-year-old was also quids in after selling a chunk of shares in late May for £1.3m. The Lebanese-Canadian boss - whose pay and perks package jumped from £8.6m to £13.7m last year - is far from alone in seeing their personal fortunes inadvertently leap as a result of the Middle East conflict. Greenpeace found Mr Sawan, along with the CEOs of rivals Harbour Energy, TotalEnergies, and Equinor had seen their shareholdings jump by a combined £18.9m. Three of the four have sold shares during that time. Rudy Schulkind, political campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said: “While many families will be forced to choose between heating and eating this winter, oil bosses are treating geopolitical crises like their own personal cash machine, shamelessly capitalising on the fallout for their own enrichment. “Cashing out millions in personal shares while the market drives millions of people into energy poverty – all while their companies’ operations supercharge climate breakdown – is crisis profiteering at its most cynical.” The findings came as Shell announced it raked in profits of £8.1billion - equivalent of £60,000 a minute - in the past three months, and double the same period a year ago. It marked the company’s second largest ever quarterly profit. Philip Evans, senior campaigner at Greenpeace, said: "Against a backdrop of near-constant climate disaster both in the UK and worldwide, these profits go beyond mere greed – they are openly villainous. "As fossil-fuelled storms, floods, and soaring costs wreck communities, oil executives like Shell’s Wael Sawan are popping champagne on the deck of a sinking planet. We are paying with our lives and paychecks while they cash in on our misery". Among the big reasons for the surge was money made from Shell refineries, which have been working almost flat-out turning oil into diesel, jet fuel and other products. Attacks on refineries in the Middle East, as well as Russia, has put a squeeze on remaining facilities. Shell has plants in Rotterdam, the US, Canada and elsewhere. Yet while Shell and others benefit from the chaos, drivers are reeling from near record pump prices. The nationwide average for diesel is 198.70p per litre, up from 142.38p at the start of the war. Petrol has jumped from 132.83p to 172.92p, according to the RAC. The surge prompted Chancellor John Healey to freeze duty again in this week’s Budget, and delay a planned 5p rise, at a cost of £575m to the Treasury this year, and an expected £780m in 2027/28. Shell was also a beneficiary of soaring oil and wholesale gas prices since the war broke out, and before. Crude oil has rocketed from $70 a barrel before the conflict to $113 a barrel now. The price shock boosting energy firms’ coffers has triggered a bill crisis for million of households in the UK and beyond. EDF has forecast regulator Ofgem’s energy price cap could surge by 27% - nearly £470 a year - to almost £2,200 in January, and potentially £2,389 in April. The looming threat saw Mr Healey announce £100 for 20 million households in Wednesday's Budget, at a cost of £2.6bn. Simon Francis, from of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: “There is no version of these figures which look even remotely fair. Shell earns more in 60 seconds than most people in this country manage in 12 months. Meanwhile, for households, energy bills continue to rise driven by the surging cost of gas and politicians seem unable or unwilling to provide sufficient emergency support that will keep people warm this winter. Mr Sawan insisted: “Shell’s relentless focus on operational performance enabled very strong results in a quarter with continued severe disruption to the global energy system. I’m grateful to Shell’s teams around the world who continue to work tirelessly to produce and supply the energy our customers need.” Shell declined to comment on criticism of the jump in the value of Mr Sawan’s shareholding. A source said 80% of his package is linked to the firm’s performance and shareholder returns had risen 120% since he took over as CEO at the start of 2023. The company also announced plans to buy back another £3.8billion of its own shares, which is a further boost to investors. It highlighted the fact that almost £1 in £10 in dividends from the FTSE 100 is from Shell. A spokesman added that its effective tax rate was 39% globally, almost double the OECD average for companies.