Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei Earned $18 Million in Previous Year

Dario Amodei, CEO of AI company Anthropic, earned $18 million in the past year, according to the company's initial public offering filing. This places his compensation in the mid-range for top executives at major technology firms.

Anthropic, the developer of the Claude AI, is preparing for a potential IPO as early as this fall, with a valuation that could exceed $2 trillion, as indicated in its IPO prospectus. Amodei's reported earnings for the year position him above the CEOs of Alphabet and Amazon, but below those at Oracle and Nvidia.

The majority of Amodei's compensation consists of stock and other forms of equity, a common practice for tech founders where annual salary represents a smaller portion of their overall wealth.

In July, Dario Amodei and his sister, Anthropic President Daniela Amodei, each saw their annual salaries increase to $1.4 million. In the previous year, stock and option awards formed the largest part of their compensation packages, with Daniela Amodei receiving a total of $16.4 million.

Both siblings were granted restricted stock units by Anthropic's board this year, which are contingent on meeting certain conditions, including remaining with the company and the successful completion of the IPO.

Krishna Rao, the Chief Financial Officer, earned $720,250 last year. Rao was granted options to purchase 1.4 million shares upon his hiring in 2024 and exercised options valued at $385,285 in 2025.

An Anthropic spokesperson declined to comment on the compensation figures.

Executive Compensation Landscape

The overall increase in CEO pay in the United States in recent years has significantly outpaced the wage growth for the average worker. Critics express concern that this disparity could be amplified by the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence.

According to the AFL-CIO, the average annual compensation for S&P 500 CEOs rose 21% to $22.8 million last year. This figure notably excludes extraordinary compensation packages, such as Elon Musk's $158 billion restricted stock plan at Tesla.

Courtney Yu, research director at executive compensation data firm Equilar, commented that Amodei's $18 million compensation appears to be on the lower end for a company with a projected $2 trillion valuation. Yu noted that it will be interesting to observe how this compensation evolves after the company goes public and Amodei's full ownership stake is revealed.

Given that Anthropic has six co-founders, Amodei might receive a smaller share of the wealth generated by the IPO compared to other prominent tech CEOs, Yu added.

Compensation for top executives at AI-focused technology companies in 2025 showed considerable variation, based on filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Oracle co-CEO Clayton Magouyrk reported earnings of $627.5 million, while Elon Musk's salary as CEO of SpaceX, prior to its IPO, was $54,080.

SpaceX has also committed to providing Musk with super-voting restricted shares if the company's market value reaches $7.5 trillion and it establishes a Martian colony with one million inhabitants.

Some large companies report lower annual compensation, with executives benefiting from substantial stock ownership rather than large salaries. For example, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai reported $10.9 million in 2025, which included $8.8 million for personal security due to his public profile. On an 'actually paid' basis, Pichai's compensation for the year was $213.9 million, reflecting adjustments such as the change in value of his unvested shares.

Amazon CEO Andrew Jassy's reported compensation for 2025 was $2.1 million, primarily covering travel and security expenses. On an 'actually paid' basis, Jassy received $13.2 million.

Yu from Equilar suggested that these disclosures highlight how many executives are not solely reliant on annual compensation. She explained that founder CEOs typically possess sufficient equity such that increases in stock price generate wealth, allowing them to live off their existing equity holdings without drawing substantial annual salaries.

The IPO filing indicates that Anthropic offers a combination of salary, equity awards, and other benefits. The S-1 statement does not detail the founders' ownership stakes, which could be valued in the billions of dollars depending on the final IPO terms and valuation.

In their IPO filing, the Amodei siblings and their co-founders committed to donating 80% of their personal Anthropic equity to charitable causes. Dario Amodei previously stated in an essay that wealthy individuals have a responsibility to address issues arising from AI adoption, criticizing what he described as a cynical attitude towards philanthropy among many in the tech industry.