Sundar Pichai is set to become one of the highest-paid chief executives in the world after Google decided to raise his total potential compensation to $692 million ( ₹6,361 crore), which will be paid out over the next three years.
However, a major portion of Pichai’s package comes in performance stock units (PSUs), whose final value largely depends on how well the parent company Alphabet performs for shareholders.
The India-origin executive joined Google in 2004 and rose swiftly through the ranks, earning four promotions in the 11 years that followed before being named the company’s CEO in 2015. Under his leadership over the past decade, Google’s market capitalisation has surged nearly sevenfold from $535 billion to $3.6 trillion, briefly crossing $4 trillion mark in January this year.
Sundar Pichai’s net worth and salary
According to Forbes Real Time Billionaires, Sundar Pichai’s current net worth stands at $1.5 billion.
A sharp rise in Google’s valuation over the years has significantly boosted Pichai’s personal wealth, helping the 53-year-old former McKinsey & Company consultant become a billionaire.
Since, most of his latest pay package is in form of stocks, it won’t be counted in his net worth unless it is vested as it holds no immediate, realizable value and is usually forefeited if the employee leaves the company.
Pichai currently earns an annual salary of $2 million, according to exchange filings.
He last received a stock award in December 2022 worth $218 million, structured in the similar way to the latest compensation.
In addition to these stock-based awards, his earnings are further boosted by his personal security-related expenses covered by the company. These personal security costs rose to $8.3 million in 2024, according to a report by the Financial Times.
Meanwhile Pichai and his wife Anjali collectively own 1.67 million Google shares, valued at $498 million based on the company’s Friday closing stock price of $298, according to regulatory filings.
Sundar Pichai career and education
Pichai, whose full name is actually Pichai Sundararajan, grew up in Chennai, India. His father worked as an electrical engineer and his mother worked as a stenographer before having him and his younger brother.
The Google chief executive holds a degree in metallurgical and materials engineering from IIT kharagpur.
In 1993, Pichai moved to the United States, and earned a master’s degree from Stanford. He later attended the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School for his MBA degree.
When he joined Google in 2004, he started as VP of product management, focused on Google’s Toolbar. As he rose through the ranks, Pichai came to be seen as the “right-hand man” of Google co-founder and former CEO Larry Page, according to a report by Business Insider.
