Research has revealed the “winners” of the Middle East conflict include executives at energy producers – as ordinary families are feeling the pinch through higher bills
Energy bosses have seen their personal fortunes surge thanks to the Middle East crisis, while millions of UK households are left reeling.
Fat cats running four of Britain’s biggest industry giants are among those whose shareholdings have jumped in value amid expectations that oil and gas producers will rake in a “phenomenal” Iran war windfall.
They are included on a list of 10 industry bigwigs from around the world whose holdings have leapt by a combined £66million since the crisis began at the end of February, analysis shared with the Mirror has revealed.
Yet while their wealth – on paper at least – has risen sharply, ordinary people are paying the price of what has been dubbed “Trumpflation”.
Drivers have been hammered by a record leap in pump prices since the Donald Trump and Israel’s war with Iran erupted. As millions head off for the Easter getaway, the national average for unleaded stands at 154.45p – up nearly 22p a litre since the start of the conflict. Diesel has soared 43p a litre to average 185.23p.
Meanwhile, experts warn household energy prices could jump by £288 to £1,929 a year by the summer if the war drags on. And the Food and Drink Federation forecasts grocery bills could leap by up to 10% this year, even if the conflict is resolved in the next two to three weeks. The government is also facing a huge bill for the crisis, which is estimated to have added billions of pounds to the government’s debt interest payments because of growing investor uncertainty.
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Analysis by the End Fuel Poverty Coalition compared how much energy chief executives’ shareholdings in their companies were worth just before the war began in late February, and then at the end of March. Energy firms’ stock market values have soared, in contrast to a wider fall in stock markets, boosting shareholders.
Linda Z Cook, chief executive of Harbour Energy, one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies and among the biggest North Sea producers, has seen the value of her stake jump by £4.3million to £26.2million, the research shows.
The increase – equivalent to around £1million for every week of the war – comes as Harbour Energy’s stock market value has jumped by around £870million.
Another to benefit is Wael Sawan, chief executive of industry heavyweight Shell, whose holding has risen by £1.7million to almost £13.2million. He got another near 300,000 Shell shares in early March dating back to a previous reward scheme that are now worth another £10million, but cannot be accessed for three years,.
Chris O’Shea, boss of British Gas owner Centrica, recently warned that energy bill increases were “inescapable”. Not that he will be worrying about how to pay his bill, as the value of his Centrica shareholding has risen by around £385,000 to £13.1million since the war began.
At BP, incoming chief executive Meg O’Neill only took over the reins on Wednesday this week. Interim boss Carol Howle saw her shares grow by over £500,000 in value to £2.8million in the space of a month.
She stood in after CEO Murray Auchincloss quit in December. Canadian Auchincloss had more more than 1.8 million shares at the time of his departure and could have seen his stake jump by £2million to £10.6million over recent weeks, the analysis found.
Shares in energy producers have been driven up by Iran’s near blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas would normally flows.
Coupled to that is disruption to facilities in the wider oil-rich Gulf region. Both have led to concerns about the ongoing guarantee of oil, on which many of the world’s economies are still heavily reliant.
While there is plenty of oil held in reserve, a spike in wholesale prices reflects uncertainty about how the Middle East conflict will play out, and how long it will last.
The price of Brent crude – one of three major oil benchmarks used by traders – was around $109 a barrel yesterday (Fri), still well above the roughly $70 it was before the conflict began at the end of February but below a recent peak of $119.
Experts are worried about the impact on the global economy and inflation if oil remains at these high levels, with warnings it could hit $150 if the war drags on. However, it comes amid reports that several ships – including one owned by a French company – have passed through the Strait.
Experts have compared the potential profit bonanza for oil and gas companies to the 2022 when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent wholesale costs soaring.
Leo Mariani, senior research analyst at Roth Capital Partners, said the first three months of this year were “going to be phenomenal for these companies. I don’t think there’s any way round that.”
Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: “There are very few winners from the conflict in the Middle East, and most of those are the wealthy oil and gas bosses who help set the prices we all pay for our energy.”
Jonathan Bean, a spokesperson for Fuel Poverty Action, part of the Coalition, said: “The Government must act urgently to stop more obscene energy profiteering from war, which will leave millions unable to afford the essential energy they need. Windfall tax loopholes must be removed and fair wealth taxes introduced.”
Caitlin Boswell, interim deputy director at Tax Justice UK, which is not in the Coalition, said: “Different parts of the economy are set to make eye-watering paydays as they spot opportunities for profiteering from the US-Israeli war on Iran and immense human suffering, while ordinary people see their energy bills sky-rocket.
“That’s why the Chancellor should urgently implement excess profits taxes on energy, defence and banking sectors – called for by wider civil society – to send a clear message that the UK won’t accept profiteering from war and crisis.”
Centrica and Shell declined to comment, while Harbour and BP did not respond.
Insiders say executives are required have large shareholdings and a big chunk are effectively locked away and unable to be sold for a number of years. The value of the shareholders could also fall of their firms’ share price drops.
They also cautioned that, while wholesale prices have jumped, some producers have been unable to sell oil and gas because of the Strait of Hormuz blockade.
Wael Sawan
Sawan was born in Beirut, where his Palestinian father fled as a refugee in 1948. He spent much of his childhood in Dubai, when his father was working there, before moving to Canada for his higher education.
He received a master’s degree in chemical engineering in Canada, then an MBA from Harvard.
Sawan is married, has three sons, is is believed to live in London. The Lebanese-Canadian business executive joined Shell in 1997 and became CEO in 2023 – the first non-European to run Europe’s biggest oil and gas company.
His pay and perks package jumped 60% to £13.7million last year, despite a fall in Shell’s profits. The bumper sum included a £1.5million salary and nearly £12million bonus awards, much of which he won’t get for three years.
He once said in an interview: “I’m a truth-teller. I’m very comfortable taking some of the flak that comes with a job like this.” Interviewed in 2023, he recalled a recent visit with his sons to Lebanon when fuel was being rationed and they queued for hours at a service station to fill up half a tank.
Linda Z Cook
American Ms Cook, 67, was raised in Kansas worked at Shell for almost 30 years.
She was born Linda Zarda, the eldest of six children. In 2007, she was named the 44th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine.
While Harbour Energy is in London, Ms Cook’s country of residence is still given as the US on Companies House. Records suggest she owns a 2021-built £6million five bedroom, five bathroom home in Houston, complete with a swimming pool and wine vault, although it appears the property may have recently been sold.
The University of Kansas website says: “Linda Zarda Cook rose through the ranks in an industry dominated by men to become one of the top executives in one of the top energy companies in the world.”
Ms Cook, who has three children, saw her pay and perks more than tripled to £10million last year, fuelled by a £7.5million “reward” for her “exceptional contribution to the business” since she was appointed in March 2021. She has netted £25.5million in total since then.
Chris O’Shea
Scotsman O’Shea, 52, is credited with turning around Centrica but has overseen thousands of job cuts and a controversial “fire and rehire” of boiler engineers.
Born in Kirkcaldy and brought up on a council estate in Fife, he studied accountancy in Glasgow. He was rejected from Cambridge University after what he called a “car crash” interview.
In a world of suits, Mr O’Shea is know for his dressing casually – once turning up for a newspaper interview wearing a hoodie – and his now trademark big beard and moustache.
The married father of three lives in a Berkshire property bought for almost £1million in 2012, as well as a home in Glasgow. He is said to drive an 1992 ex-Army Land Rover Defender, is a fan of Primal Scream and Celtic FC and has run the London Marathon.
He is also seen as a straight-talker, telling the BBC in 2024 it was “impossible to justify” what he was paid. That didn’t prevent him continuing rake in a bumper pay package worth £4.7million last year, on top of £5.1million in 2024. He has netted £23million since 2021.
O’Shea apologised after it emerged agents working for British gas had forcibly fitted prepayment meters into the homes of poor and vulnerable customers.
Carol Howle
Howle became stand-in chief executive of BP after Murray Auchincloss quit in December. He was less than two years in the job. Meg O’Neill took over a permanent CEO last week.
Howle has been an executive vice president at BP since 2020. Prior to that, she ran BP’s shipping arm and has more than 20 years’ experience in the energy industry. She is a non-executive board member of the Royal Navy.
