SOURCE : NEW18 NEWS
Last Updated:April 29, 2025, 10:11 IST
A recent filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission reveals that Google paid $8.27 million for CEO Sundar Pichai’s protection in 2024.
The amount has increased by almost 22 per cent from $6.78 million in 2023. (Photo Credit: X)
In 2024, Google paid $8.27 million for the personal security of CEO Sundar Pichai, according to a recent filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. This amount is almost 22 per cent higher than the $6.78 million in 2023, partly because of several security measures implemented during Pichai’s busy year. “In 2024, Sundar’s security arrangements included residential security and consultation fees, security monitoring services, car and driver services, and personal security during all travel,” Alphabet, Google’s parent company, states in its 2025 proxy statement.
“We believe these arrangements and costs are reasonable, appropriate, necessary, and in the best interests of Alphabet and its stockholders, as they mitigate risks to our business,” the statement adds.
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In addition, the proxy statement claimed that “we do not consider these additional security arrangements to be a personal benefit to Sundar because they arise from the nature of his employment responsibilities.” Meanwhile, Google refrained from commenting on the same.
Pichai often spoke with world leaders about technical breakthroughs, including artificial intelligence (AI), during his extended travels in 2024, which coincided with the increase. At the heart of an AI arms race, Google’s leadership in the search market may be threatened by competition from AI and growing regulations. In the first quarter of 2025, Google’s revenue reportedly increased by 12 per cent over the same period the previous year.
In the fiscal year 2024, Pichai received $10.73 million in total compensation, including stock awards, according to the proxy filing. That’s more than the $8.8 million from the year before.
It is unclear how Google has adjusted its security expenditures for Pichai in 2025, but a recent Reuters analysis found that at least a dozen Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 companies have raised security expenditures as more companies perceive increased threats to their top executives in the wake of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson’s murder in December last year.
In addition to Pichai, the statement states that Kent Walker, Alphabet’s legal chief, was paid close to $30.2 million in total last year. Compared to $27.3 million the year before, there is an increase. Anat Ashkenazi, Alphabet’s new finance chief, was paid almost $50 million in total, including a bonus of almost $10 million.
In other news, Google’s full-time employees received an average total salary of $331,894, which was 5 per cent more than the $315,531 average from the prior year.
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