Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet Inc., which owns Google, has officially become a billionaire. As of now, Pichai's net worth is estimated at $1.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

This billionaire status comes mainly from:

• His 0.02% ownership stake in Alphabet.
• Large cash reserves he’s built up.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has a market value of over $2.3 trillion, which helped boost the value of Pichai’s shares. In the past month alone, Alphabet’s Class A stock jumped by 13%, which gave a fresh boost to Pichai’s personal fortune, as per the report by Bloomberg.

Pichai didn’t found google — but still became a billionaire

Unlike other tech billionaires like, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Jensen Huang. Pichai did not start Google himself. Because of that, Pichai never had a massive stockholding from the early days of the company — which is why his net worth is much lower than those founders. His billionaire status came only after years of compensation packages and steady stock gains at Alphabet, as per the report by Fortune.

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Pichai has sold a lot of stock over the years

Over the last 10 years as CEO, Pichai has sold about $650 million worth of Alphabet shares. If he had kept those shares, they could be worth more than $1 billion today, and his total net worth would be around $2.5 billion instead of $1.1 billion.

For example, in June 2025, Pichai sold about 33,000 Class C Alphabet shares at $169 each, earning about $5.5 million. But now those same shares are worth around $193 each, meaning they’d be worth over $6.4 million. Despite these sales, Pichai has stayed disciplined and transparent — and follows a legal rule called Rule 10b5-1, as stated by Fortune report.

Why Pichai’s share sales are legal and planned in advance

Pichai’s stock sales are made under Rule 10b5-1, a SEC-approved rule that lets executives plan their stock sales in advance.

This rule:

• Prevents insider trading.
  
• Uses a pre-set formula to decide how many shares to sell, at what price, and on what date.
  
• Requires an independent third party to handle the sales.
  

His recent sales on June 4 and July 16, 2025, were both made under this rule. Other top CEOs like Jensen Huang of Nvidia also use this same method. Fortune reported last summer that Huang was selling around $14 million in stock almost daily using Rule 10b5-1.

James Reda, a compensation expert from Gallagher’s HR consulting firm, explained this approach makes sense. He said, “If you don’t sell stock, you may end up like Elon Musk—borrowing big loans using stock as collateral.” Selling some shares regularly is a safer way to manage wealth, according to Reda.

AI Boom Helps Push Pichai Into the Billionaire Club

A big reason for Alphabet’s recent stock growth is the AI boom. On Alphabet’s Q2 earnings call, the word “AI” was used around 90 times, showing how important it is to the company’s strategy. The company reported 14% revenue growth year-over-year, reaching $96.4 billion in Q2, according to the report by Fortune.

Google Search, YouTube ads, Google Cloud, and subscriptions all saw double-digit growth in the quarter. The stock rally—and Pichai’s wealth jump—are part of a larger trend. In 2023, tech billionaires like Musk, Zuckerberg, and Larry Ellison added $585 billion combined to their fortunes, mostly thanks to AI.

What Pichai said about keeping AI talent at Google

Investors are concerned about whether big AI companies can hold on to their best people, especially after some staff left OpenAI to join Meta’s AI team. But Pichai seemed confident on the earnings call. He said, “We’ve always invested deeply in talent, including AI, for over a decade now.”

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He explained that top AI researchers care about:

• Working on cutting-edge technology
  
• Having access to top computing power
  
• Collaborating with the best people in the industry
  

Pichai added that Google is competitive in all these areas and expects to keep attracting and retaining top AI talent. Sundar Pichai is now officially a billionaire. His wealth mostly comes from a small stake in Alphabet and steady compensation. He has sold a large number of shares over time—but in a legal, well-planned way.

The AI boom has boosted Alphabet’s value and helped grow his fortune. Pichai’s path to billionaire status is different from that of the founders, but still impressive, according to the report by Fortune.

FAQs

Q1. Is Sundar Pichai a billionaire now?
Yes, Sundar Pichai is officially a billionaire with a net worth of $1.1 billion, thanks to his Alphabet shares and long-term compensation.

Q2. .How did Sundar Pichai become so rich if he didn't start Google?
He became wealthy through years of stock awards, a 0.02% stake in Alphabet, and the company’s AI-driven growth, despite regularly selling shares.