New York (CNN) The top Google executive made quite a bit of money last year.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Google’s parent company Alphabet, earned nearly $226 million in 2022, according to a new Alphabet filing.
The majority of the compensation came from stock, valued at more than $218 million. The rest of the compensation came from a base salary of $2 million and more than $5 million for a private security service.
That’s a big boost for Pichai, who earned just over $6 million in 2021 and $7.4 million in 2020.
Pichai’s stock increases occur every three years. In 2019, he received a similar $281 million package.
Alphabet stock, meanwhile, fell 39% in 2022 amid a tech and broader market slowdown. Stocks have rebounded this year, rising about 19.5% since January.
Other top executives also received healthy paychecks in 2022, although nowhere near as large as Pichai’s. Prabhakar Raghavan, Google’s senior vice president of knowledge and information, and Philipp Schindler, Google’s chief commercial officer, each earned $37 million. Google and Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat and Kent Walker, chief legal officer, both earned around $24.5 million.
In January, Alphabet announced it would cut 12,000 jobs, a 6% reduction in its total workforce. The median salary for an Alphabet employee is just under $280,000, according to the filing. This means that Pichai’s salary is more than 800 times higher.
Someone earning the minimum wage of $15.50 in Alphabet’s home state of California would be expected to work 14.6 million hours, or just over 7,000 (with 40 hours of work per week and no free time) to catch up with Pichai’s salary in 2022.
Skyrocketing CEO compensation has been a controversial topic in recent years.
According to a study by the Economic Policy Institute, executive compensation has skyrocketed 1,460% since 1978, and more than 80% of their compensation is typically stock-based.
“This increase in CEO pay and executive pay in general has fueled income growth for the top 1% and top 0.1%, leaving less economic growth gains for ordinary workers and widening the gap between the very top earners and the bottom 90%,” the institute analysts wrote. “The economy wouldn’t suffer if CEOs were paid less (or more taxed).”
Apple CEO Tim Cook cut his own salary by 40% in 2023 after coming under fire from shareholders for earning $100 million in 2022 and 2021.
The vast majority of Cook’s compensation in 2022 – about 75% – was tied to company stock, with half dependent on share price performance.
Shareholders voted against Cook’s salary package after Apple shares fell nearly 27% last year. The vote is not binding, but the board’s compensation committee said Cook requested the cut.
“The Compensation Committee balanced shareholder feedback, Apple’s outstanding performance, and a recommendation from Mr. Cook to adjust his compensation in light of feedback received,” the company said in its published proxy statement. THURSDAY.