Sanford Weill, the 67-year-old chief executive of Citigroup, is set to consolidate his position as one of the highest paid bosses in the US. According to regulatory filings published last week, Weill, who started work as a $35-a-week runner for Bear Stearns, is set to raise around $45m (€49.5m) from the sale of 640,000 shares later this month.

Brooklyn-born Weill, who still owns more than $1.2bn of Citigroup stock, has long been one of the highest paid executives in the US.