Dario Amodei, the chief executive of Claude developer Anthropic, took home $18 million in CEO earnings last year, according to the company’s IPO prospectus seen by Reuters. The disclosure offers the first detailed look at executive pay inside the artificial intelligence giant as it prepares for a possible stock market debut.
The filing was reported by Reuters on Tuesday. Anthropic is preparing an initial public offering that could value the company at more than $2 trillion, according to the prospectus, though the final offering terms have not been set.
Mid-pack among big tech chiefs: Anthropic CEO earnings
Amodei’s $18 million package places him roughly in the middle of chief executives at major technology companies. His pay topped Alphabet chief Sundar Pichai’s $10.9 million and Amazon boss Andy Jassy’s $2.1 million for 2025, based on public disclosures.
He trailed some of the industry’s heaviest earners by a wide margin. Nvidia chief Jensen Huang took home $35.5 million, while Oracle co-chief executive Clayton Magouyrk received $627.5 million.
The average annual compensation for an S&P 500 chief executive rose 21 per cent to $22.8 million last year, according to the AFL-CIO, which puts Amodei’s package below that average.
Stock, not salary, does the heavy lifting
Like many technology founders, Amodei takes most of his pay in equity rather than cash. Stock and options awards made up the bulk of his 2025 package. He and his sister, Anthropic president Daniela Amodei, each drew an annual salary of $1.4 million after their pay was doubled in July.
Daniela Amodei received $16.4 million in total compensation last year, the filing shows. The siblings, both Anthropic co-founders, are set to receive further equity this year in the form of restricted stock units. Some of those awards depend on them staying at the company, while others are tied to the IPO itself going ahead.
The company’s chief financial officer, Krishna Rao, earned $720,250 last year. Rao was granted options to buy 1.4 million shares when he joined in 2024 and exercised options worth $385,285 during 2025.
A quiet note on the pay level
One pay analyst suggested the figure was modest given Anthropic’s scale. Courtney Yu, director of research at pay data firm Equilar, told Reuters the $18 million package “seems on the lower end for a company valued at $2 trillion.”
That comment captures the wider dynamic at founder-led technology firms: the annual pay packet is often a fraction of the wealth a chief executive stands to build through ownership. The prospectus does not spell out the founders’ ownership stakes, but depending on the IPO pricing, those holdings could be worth billions.
What comes next
An Anthropic spokesperson declined to comment on the compensation figures, according to the Reuters report. The company is reportedly eyeing a Wall Street debut before Thanksgiving, a listing that would rank among the largest in history if the $2 trillion valuation holds.
For now, the filing answers one question and leaves the bigger one open. Amodei’s $18 million payday is public. His true fortune, locked in the company’s equity, stays private until the shares trade.
FAQs
How much did Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei earn in 2025?
He received $18 million in total compensation last year, according to Anthropic’s IPO prospectus seen by Reuters.
How much of Amodei’s pay is salary?
His annual salary is $1.4 million, doubled in July. The bulk of the $18 million came from stock and options awards.
What did Daniela Amodei earn?
Daniela Amodei, Anthropic’s president and Dario’s sister, received $16.4 million in total compensation in 2025.
How does Amodei’s pay compare with other tech CEOs?
It puts him above Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai and Amazon’s Andy Jassy, but below Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Oracle’s Clayton Magouyrk, and below the S&P 500 CEO average of $22.8 million.
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Originally reported by propakistani.pk.
