Sundar Pichai pay hike: Google grants Indian-origin CEO new ₹63,61,79,82,000 pay deal
Tech giant Google increased CEO Sundar Pichai’s total potential compensation to $692 million ( ₹6,361 crore over the next three years), making him one of the highest-paid senior executives in the world.
The bulk of Pichai’s package consists of performance stock units (PSUs) with a target value of $126 million, split equally into two tranches, according to the SEC filing. These stock awards are performance-based, meaning their ultimate value depends on how well Alphabet performs for shareholders.
A while ago, Elon Musk’s compensation package also attracted the world’s attention. In November 2025, Tesla’s shareholders approved a new performance-based pay plan for the CEO that could be worth up to $1 trillion over the next 10 years.
How will PSUs be evaluated?
PSUs are measured by comparing parent company Alphabet’s total shareholder return to other companies in the S&P 100.
If Alphabet significantly outperforms its peers, PSUs could pay out up to twice the target amount, or $252 million. But if the company falls behind, the payout could even drop to zero.
The Indian-origin CEO will also receive approximately $84 million in restricted stock on a monthly basis over the next three years while he remains with the company. He will also continue to receive an annual salary of $2 million.
Stock incentives tied to Waymo and Wing growth
As part of the pay package, Google added two new stock incentives worth $350 million, tied to the growth of driverless taxi arm Waymo and drone delivery start-up Wing.
Pichai will receive shares from Waymo at a target value of $130 million and Wing Aviation shares at a “fair value” of $45 million over the next three years. Again, both can pay up to 200% of target value if performance targets linked to businesses are met or exceeded.
In this case, the CEO could receive up to $692 million in stock and salary, with a base amount of $391 million.
Pichai took over as Google’s chief executive in August 2015. Since then, the company’s market value has increased almost sevenfold, from $535 billion to $3.6 trillion, and briefly surpassed $4 trillion in January, according to the FT.
This sharp increase in the company’s valuation also increased Pichai’s personal wealth and made the 53-year-old former McKinsey consultant a billionaire. According to data from Forbes, his current net worth is $1.5 billion.
Pichai and his wife, Anjali, meanwhile, own 1.67 million shares of Google, worth $498 million based on the company’s Friday closing stock price of $298, according to regulatory filings.
