- Kyle Chua
Alphabet CEO Pichai’s Made $226 Million in 2022 Amid Waves of Layoffs
Updated: Dec 19, 2023
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai was among the highest-paid corporate leaders in 2022, earning more than US$200 million in compensation.
The chief of Google's parent company made a total of US$226 million last year, with the stock grant portion of his pay amounting to US$218 million, according to a recent filing. He received US$6.3 million in compensation in 2021, when he wasn't awarded the triennial stock grant. His salary, meanwhile, was capped at US$2 million for the past three years.
Pichai's earnings are reportedly more than 800 times the median employee's pay, underscoring a significant pay disparity between executives and employees working at the Mountain View, California-based tech giant.
The 50-year old tech executive's last stock grant was in 2019, when he was awarded a package worth US$281 million. His total earnings that year was 1,085 times the median employee pay at the company.
Prabhakar Raghavan, Senior Vice President of Google’s Knowledge and Information division, and Philipp Schindler, Chief Business Officer of Google, in comparison, both only made about US$37 million in 2022. Meanwhile, Ruth Porat, Chief Financial Officer of Alphabet, earned about US$24.5 million. The aforementioned executives, however, receive their stock grants on an annual basis, instead of Pichai's triennial.
The disclosure of Pichai's earnings comes amid Alphabet implementing new measures to reduce costs during what many consider is a turbulent time for the tech industry.
Alphabet in January announced it was cutting around 12,000 jobs across its offices around the world, which equates to about 6% of its total global workforce. Reuters reported that hundreds of Google employees earlier this month staged a protest at the company's London offices over layoffs. Employees in the company's Zurich offices did the same in March of this year after more than 200 individuals were sacked.
The company could also be looking to reduce its office space rather than grow it as it paused development of its 80-acre downtown San Jose, California property.
The filing also reveals that Alphabet spent US$5.94 million on personal security for Pichai in 2022.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai made a total of US$226 million last year, with the stock grant portion of his pay amounting to US$218 million, according to a recent filing.
Pichai's earnings are reportedly more than 800 times the median employee's pay, underscoring a significant pay disparity between executives and employees working at the tech giant.
The disclosure of Pichai's earnings comes amid Alphabet implementing new measures to reduce costs during what many consider is a turbulent time for the tech industry.