One week into 2025, the Netherlands’ 16 best paid chief executives have earned the equivalent of a full-time minimum wage for a whole year, according to calculations by trade union federation FNV.

The union has dubbed January 7 as “fat cat day” to highlight the gap between the best paid people and those on the minimum wage, which is now €14.06 an hour.

Top of the list is Ahold Delhaize CEO Frans Muller, who crossed the threshold on January 2. He, the FNV says, earns a salary of €6,957,432 a year, an amount that would take a 21-year-old shelf stacker at one of “his” supermarkets 214 years to earn.

Next on the list is ASML’s chief executive Christophe Fouquet, who earns €6,736,327. He is followed by Heineken’s Dolf van den Brink on €6,509,325.

FNV deputy chairman Zakaria Boufangacha said the wage disparity is particularly painful, given CEOs are now calling for wage restraint.

The FNV is lobbying for a €16 per hour minimum wage, which would be in line with EU recommendations.

The EU minimum wage directive, signed in 2022, states that it should be 60% of the median salary, but the Dutch figure is only 49%, Boufangacha said.