Terry Leahy, the chief executive of Tesco, received a 15% boost to his salary and benefits in the past year, according to figures due out tomorrow.
His annual pay-out of £2.8m (€3.9m) was just the tip of the remuneration iceberg and part of a multi-million pound rewards package.
In the six years since Leahy's arrival, Tesco has grown group sales by 91% and underlying profits by 87%.
Tesco has pursued a strategy of rapid expansion in the past decade. About 21,000 jobs were created by the company around the world during this period.