Reuters says Anthropic's IPO filing shows Dario Amodei earned $18m in 2025, largely in stock and options, which places him around the middle of CEO pay at major tech firms.
Reuters said Anthropic’s confidential IPO prospectus lists Dario Amodei’s disclosed 2025 compensation at $18m, a package weighted towards equity and options rather than cash. That reported figure places him around the middle of large tech and AI chief executives for the year, once differing pay structures are taken into account made $18 million last year.
What exactly does the $18m figure cover?
Reuters said the company’s confidential S-1, filed in June, shows the $18m as Anthropic’s disclosed 2025 compensation for Amodei as chief executive. The filing presents the number as the annual compensation disclosed for that year and does not represent total founder wealth or the full value of unvested equity made $18 million last year.
Reuters said Anthropic reported that the Amodei siblings’ packages were heavily weighted to stock and option awards while annual base pay was doubled in July to $1.4m each, and that the package applied to Amodei, and to his sister Daniela, Anthropic’s president. The filing details restricted stock units that promise future payouts if conditions are met; some awards vest with continued employment, others are tied to the IPO doubled in July to $1.4 million.
Reuters said the prospectus does not disclose founders’ ownership percentages, and that the prospectus says those stakes could be worth billions depending on IPO terms and valuation, so the S-1’s $18m annual disclosure does not reveal retained or unvested holdings that typically determine a founder CEO’s ultimate wealth. Reuters said the filing also shows options granted to the chief financial officer and that he exercised options worth $385,285 in 2025 granted the Amodei siblings restricted stock units.
Reuters said Anthropic describes its executive pay as a mix of salary, equity awards and benefits, and the company declined to comment on the figures when contacted. Reuters said the prospectus also shows the co-founders have pledged to dedicate 80% of their personal Anthropic equity to charitable causes, a commitment that will affect how any crystallised value is distributed described its executive compensation as a mix.
How does that amount compare with compensation at major tech and AI firms?
Reuters said Amodei’s $18m sits above the disclosed 2025 annual pay reported for some public tech CEOs but well below the largest packages in the sector, placing him roughly in the middle of the distribution. Direct comparisons require care because pay structures differ: some CEOs report low annual cash pay while holding equity that can deliver the bulk of their wealth when it vests or on listing places him above the disclosed 2025 annual compensation.
Reuters said Alphabet’s filing shows Sundar Pichai received $10.9m in 2025, a sum that included $8.8m for personal security. Reuters said an SEC metric called “compensation actually paid,” which counts changes in the value of unvested stock, put Pichai’s 2025 figure at $213.9m for the year Pichai received $10.9 million in 2025.
Reuters said Amazon’s reporting shows Andrew (Andy) Jassy’s disclosed 2025 pay at $2.1m in annual compensation. Reuters said when changes in the value of unvested stock are included under the “actually paid” measure, his 2025 figure rises to $13.2m Jassy received $2.1 million in 2025.
Reuters said at the top end, Oracle co-CEO Clayton Magouyrk’s 2025 disclosure reported $627.5m, demonstrating how wide the range can be across large tech firms. For a broader benchmark, Reuters said the AFL-CIO reported average annual compensation for S&P 500 CEOs rose 21% to $22.8m, placing Amodei’s $18m below that mean but within the broad spread for major companies average annual compensation rose 21% to $22.8 million.
Reuters said Equilar’s Courtney Yu noted that comparisons are complicated by those differing pay structures and by founder equity that is not fully disclosed. Yu said Amodei’s $18m “seems on the lower end for a company valued at $2 trillion” but added that public disclosure of ownership after an IPO could materially change how Amodei’s compensation compares to peers Amodei’s $18m "seems on the lower end for a company valued at $2 trillion".
Final note: Reuters said the $18m number in the S-1 is the 2025 annual compensation disclosure and is dominated by equity awards; it does not show unvested or retained ownership that typically determines a founder CEO’s ultimate wealth. Because the prospectus omits founders’ ownership percentages, a full comparison of total founder wealth to peer CEOs awaits public reporting at or after any IPO does not disclose the founders’ ownership stakes.
Watch for the S-1’s public filing and any IPO disclosures for founders’ ownership percentages and the fuller picture of how Amodei’s total compensation and wealth compare with peers.
This article was created with AI assistance.
