Sundar Pichai's birthday: Know Google CEO's net worth and career growth

Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google and Alphabet, is among the most prominent Indians in American. Born on 10 June 1972, in Tamil Nadu's Madras (Chennai), Pichai has maneuvered the trillion-dollar corporation through the pandemic, followed by mass layoffs, and now the Artificial Intelligence (AI) boom.

Known for being passionate about technology, the Google CEO's parents were the first to cultivate his curiosity; his father, Regunatha Pichai was an electrical engineer at the British conglomerate GEC, while his mother, Lakshmi, wad a stenographer.

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As Sundar Pichai celebrates his 52nd birthday on Monday, let us check how his career grew over the years:

Pichai was first interviewed at the Googleplex in April Fools' Day in 2004, the same day the company debuted its free email service -- Gmail. Earlier in an interview with Bloomberg, Pichai said he thought Gmail was an infamous clever joke.

Among his earliest accomplishments, the now-CEO began his career working on Google's Toolbar, as a vice president - product management.

Pichai is the one to be credited for Google Chrome; early in his career with the company, he persuaded the co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page that Google needed to create its own browser.

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His plans were initially doomed after Microsoft introduced Bing as the new Internet Explorer default search engine in 2006. Pichai played a pivotal role in convincing Google executives to create Google Chrome, the company's own web browser, to mitigate the effects of this initiative.

In 2013, he took the lead in the Android division in part of his ‘substance over overt style’ philosophy.

He is recognized as the mastermind behind Chrome OS, the operating system that powers Google's affordable Chromebook computers.

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Pichai has been regarded as Larry Page's right-hand man as he ascended through the ranks. In late 2014, Page placed Pichai in control of Google's core products.

After demonstrating his capabilities with Chrome and Android, Pichai broadened his portfolio to encompass Google+, Maps, Search, commerce and advertising, as well as infrastructure.

In less than a year, Sundar Pichai was appointed Google's CEO, and in July 2017, he was added to Alphabet's board of directors.

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After two years, Pichai was promoted to Alphabet's CEO, after Sergey Brin and Larry Page announced their resignations.

Sundar Pichai net worth

In an April 2023 regulatory filing, Google disclosed that Pichai's earnings for 2022 amounted to $226 million, mainly from stock awards. With this, he was ranked among the top-paid CEOs in the United States.

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According to a filing he made with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as of February 2024, Pichai held 2.4 million Alphabet shares, of which, he sold 180,000 shares through May 2024. As of mid-May 2024, Sundar Pichai's net worth was at around $390 million.

He also possesses about 600,000 units that are not yet vested.

According to estimates, Pichai's net worth is reputedly above $1.3 billion.

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In 2022, Pichai got $226 million in salary and stock awards in the form of performance-based or restricted stock units (PSUs) or restricted stock units (GSUs).