Starbucks CEO Earns $100 Million in 4 Months, Surpassing Tim Cook & Sundar Pichai

Starbucks’ new CEO, Brian Niccol, has made headlines with an eye-popping pay package for just four months of work in 2024. Niccol earned a remarkable $96 million in this short period, making him one of the highest-paid executives in the US. This amount is significantly higher than the earnings of Apple’s Tim Cook and Google’s Sundar Pichai, who each made around $75 million in 2024.

According to a Bloomberg report, Niccol’s compensation was largely made up of stock awards, accounting for about 94% of his pay. These stock awards are performance-based and will vest over three years. In addition to the stock awards, Niccol received a $5 million sign-on bonus after his first month at Starbucks in September 2024.

Details from a company filing on January 24 reveal more about Niccol’s salary. Over $143,000 was allocated for his housing, with nearly half of that amount going to tax payments. Starbucks also covered around $72,000 in travel expenses for Niccol’s commute between his home in Southern California and Starbucks' headquarters in Seattle. Another $19,000 was spent on personal costs, including the use of a company aircraft.

Niccol is now ranked among America’s top 20 highest-paid CEOs, according to Bloomberg’s Pay Index. His total annual compensation, including stock awards, is estimated to be around $113 million, which also includes stock he forfeited from his previous job at Chipotle.

Niccol’s appointment as Starbucks CEO followed the departure of Laxman Narasimhan, who faced challenges with declining sales, union issues, and a global boycott. Niccol, previously the CEO of Chipotle, was chosen for his strong leadership skills and ability to turn businesses around. To help him settle in, Starbucks offered Niccol housing support and the use of a company jet.

Starbucks highlighted Niccol as a “highly sought-after” leader, well-equipped to drive the company’s growth.