Generation of Iterated Wreath Products Constructed from Almost Simple Groups

Let G1, G2, … be a sequence of almost simple groups and construct a sequence (Wi) of wreath products via W1 = G1 and, for each i > 1, Wi+1 = Gi+1 wr Wi via the regular action of each Gi. We determine the minimum number d(Wi) of generators required for each wreath product in this sequence.