Cost of living: what is the net worth of Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco & Morrisons CEOs amid rising food prices?

Supermarkets have been placed under scrutiny this week, as bosses from Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons were grilled over high food and fuel prices during a Business and Trade Committee inquiry on Tuesday.

The meeting was to look at why, despite some wholesale food prices falling, consumers are still seeing the cost of goods at supermarkets rise during a continued cost of living crisis.

Statistics provided by the British Retail Consortium, have shown that food prices rose by 14.6% in the year to June. That was down from 15.4% in the year to May, but it does not mean prices are falling, just that they are rising at a slower pace. 

However, that was challenged by the committee who are examining if the lack of competition in the supermarket industry has led to customers allegedly overpaying. Conservative MP Jane Hunt asked if the executives were "in fact a cartel" and were colluding to set prices.

British supermarkets have previously claimed they have cut prices when possible and added that falls in wholesale costs take time, typically three to nine months, to filter through to the shelves. 

The retailers said they paid the National Living Wage or above and argued they were doing all they could to protect customers from higher costs resulting from increased energy, labour and commodity prices.

But the committee chairman, Darren Jones, said he had heard of Asda employees recently "having to go to the food bank to collect donations of food they had stacked in their own supermarket because they cannot make ends meet". 

He also said that all four supermarkets, with the exception of Morrisons, had made increased profits compared to before the Covid pandemic, echoing suggestions that retailers might be failing to pass on savings and are banking the profit instead.

What is the net worth of the CEOs of Britain’s leading supermarket chains?

The supermarket bosses who were at the committee meeting rejected claims of making excess profits and said they were shielding customers from the full impact of rising costs. They told MPs the industry is the "most competitive we have ever been". NationalWorld's sister site PeopleWorld assessed the net worth of the four CEOs of the supermarkets under the spotlight.

Asda’s Lord Stuart Rose leads the way with an estimated net worth in 2023 of £41.6 million, according to The Richest.com.

While, Sainsbury's Simon Roberts was reportedly worth £19.7 million, according to ListOfCeo.com.

Ken Murphy, CEO of Tesco is said to be worth £15 million since the end of lockdown restrictions, ListOfCeo.com claims.

And David Potts, Morrisons CEO, is reportedly worth £7.9 million according to WallMine.