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In a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Alphabet, Google’s parent company, disclosed that the median salary for a mid-level employee at Google reached $331,894 in 2024. This marks a 5% increase from the previous year’s median salary of $315,531.
This rise in compensation is consistent with trends seen among major technology firms. For instance, at Meta, the median annual salary for employees was reported to be $379,000 in 2023.
Furthermore, the filing indicated that Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet and Google, received a total annual compensation of $10,725,043 in 2023, making his pay approximately 32 times the median salary of a Google employee. This figure reflects a significant raise from the $8,802,824 he earned the year prior.
The majority of Pichai’s compensation stemmed from the “All Other Compensation” category, which supplements his base salary of $2,015,385 and $405,630 in stock awards.
Notably, the $8,304,028 classified under this category included substantial expenses for Pichai’s personal security, which saw a 22% increase from $6,775,631 in 2023 to $8,267,123 in 2024. This category also encompassed his retirement plan as well as the use of company aircraft and vehicles.
In the proxy statement for 2025, Alphabet justified these security expenses, stating, “Due to Sundar’s significant public profile, Alphabet provides him with security protection.” The statement elaborated that his security arrangements in 2024 included residential security measures, consultation fees, security monitoring services, car and driver services, and personal security during travel.
Alphabet described these expenditures as “reasonable, appropriate, necessary, and in the best interests of Alphabet and its stockholders.”
Security expenses for tech CEOs are not uncommon. For instance, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, had a total compensation of $27.2 million in 2024, which included a pre-tax security allowance of $14 million. Similarly, Nvidia dedicated nearly $2.5 million in 2024 to security costs for its CEO, Jensen Huang.
As the technology sector continues to evolve, the discussion around executive compensation and associated security expenses remains crucial, drawing comparisons across major corporations.
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