Anthropic’s Amodei earned $18 mn ahead of IPO

Dario Amodei, CEO of AI developer Anthropic, earned $18 million in compensation last year as the company prepares for an IPO potentially valued at over $2 trillion, according to its IPO prospectus. This places him among the top earners of major technology CEOs, though slightly behind leaders at Oracle and Nvidia. His pay primarily consists of stock and options, meaning his base salary represents a small portion of his total wealth.

In July 2025, both Amodei and his sister, Anthropic President Daniela Amodei, saw their annual salaries doubled to $1.4 million each. Stock and options accounted for the majority of their 2025 packages, with Daniela Amodei earning $16.4 million. The company's board also granted them the promise of further equity in restricted stock units, contingent on the company's performance and the IPO.

Anthropic's CFO, Krishna Rao, earned $720,250, largely through option exercises. Critics note that CEO pay has significantly outpaced average worker earnings, potentially exacerbated by AI's growth. Equilar's research suggests Amodei's compensation for a $2 trillion company is on the lower side, though it will be interesting to see how it changes upon public listing. With six co-founders, Amodei may end up with a smaller share compared to other tech CEOs.