Business
The Memorial Tournament presented by Workday - Previews
(Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol’s $96 million pay package dwarfs his predecessors

Starbucks is paying Niccol much, much more than it has paid any of its past CEOs.

J. Edward Moreno

Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol made $96 million in his first four months on the job, making him the most highly compensated chief exec in the company’s history by a long shot.

Niccol’s compensation consists mostly of equity in Starbucks, a regulatory filing submitted Friday showed. His compensation includes a $5 million sign-on bonus and about $91,000 in expenses related to his use of the company’s private jet, which transports him from his home in Southern California to Starbs’ HQ in Seattle.

The company’s board was obviously very eager to persuade Niccol to jump from Chipotle, where his total compensation in 2023 was $22.5 million. Investors were also excited to have him on board, which added $20 billion to the company’s market cap shortly after the move was announced.

Niccol’s $96 million pay package is a lot more than Starbucks has paid its CEOs in the past. From 2023 to 2017, Starbs spent a total of $103 million paying its CEOs. Even the company’s longtime top exec Howard Shultz was making about $20 million before he stepped down in 2017.

Starbucks has suffered from stagnant sales, a challenging international market, and a tumultuous relationship with a union that represents thousands of its baristas.

So far, Niccol has not drastically changed the company’s fortunes. He’s imposed changes that include a no-loitering policy, getting rid of the vegan-milk tax, and adding personality to the customer experience, like bringing back mugs, latte art, and handwritten names on coffee cups.

More Business

See all Business
Hyunsoo Rim
big red button
6h
Kraft Heinz is bringing back the glass ketchup bottle as it leans on sauces for growth

The Pittsburgh-born sauce giant is turning 157 this year.

Oversize Heinz ketchup bottle displayed at Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh
Millie Giles
BED, BREAKFAST, AND BEYOND
9h
Airbnb is expanding its hotel offerings and adding car rentals to its app

As cities crack down on listings, the homestay platform is attempting to become an “everything app” for travel.

View of man talking with couple in car
Millie Giles
BATTLE OF THE BRANDS
5/20/26
Which companies have the best and worst reputations, according to Americans?

The 2026 Axios Harris Poll 100 reputation ranking suggests the US prefers Big Tech to Big Media.

Handshake
Max Knoblauch
5/19/26
Spotify expands its anti-AI verified badges to podcasts

Spotify introduced verified badges for musician profiles in late April.

Spotify Hosts a "Now Playing" Creator Day at its Los Angeles Campus
business
Tom Jones

Demis Hassabis, Google DeepMind’s CEO and founder, was also an early Anthropic investor

A chess prodigy and an actual a knight of the realm in the UK, it’s perhaps no surprise that Demis Hassabis has made some strategic moves about his exposure to AI upside. According to people familiar with the matter, the influential AI architect became an angel investor in Anthropic, currently behind many of the leading AI models, per Arena AI leaderboards.

The Nobel Prize winner’s position in the Claude creator was previously undisclosed and, per the Financial Times, highlights Hassabis’ “growing influence across the AI industry.”

Google, which bought DeepMind, the company that Hassabis cofounded and heads to this day, for a reported ~$400 million in 2014, is also a key Anthropic investor. The tech giant reportedly plans to invest up to $40 billion in the AI company as part of the mutually beneficial relationship the pair have forged, with reports that Anthropic has committed to spending $200 billion in the other direction on Google’s cloud services over the next five years.

I’m playing all sides, so I always come out on top

In addition to his financial support for Anthropic, Hassabis has also invested in a range of AI startups launched by colleagues, such as Inflection AI, a company set up by DeepMind cofounder Mustafa Suleyman (who is now CEO of Microsoft AI), as well as efforts from other collaborators, like David Silver’s Ineffable Intelligence.

Hassabis also emerged as a recurring figure on the fringes of the recent Elon Musk v. Sam Altman trial, cropping up repeatedly in testimonies and court documents and appearing to live, as The Verge put it, “rent-free” in Musk’s head.

Founded in 2021, Anthropic has recently raised funding at a reported $900 billion valuation, sending it soaring ahead of competitor OpenAI.

Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis emerges as early Anthropic investor

Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis emerges as early Anthropic investor

The Nobel Prize winner’s position in the Claude creator was previously undisclosed and, per the Financial Times, highlights Hassabis’ “growing influence across the AI industry.”

Google, which bought DeepMind, the company that Hassabis cofounded and heads to this day, for a reported ~$400 million in 2014, is also a key Anthropic investor. The tech giant reportedly plans to invest up to $40 billion in the AI company as part of the mutually beneficial relationship the pair have forged, with reports that Anthropic has committed to spending $200 billion in the other direction on Google’s cloud services over the next five years.

I’m playing all sides, so I always come out on top

In addition to his financial support for Anthropic, Hassabis has also invested in a range of AI startups launched by colleagues, such as Inflection AI, a company set up by DeepMind cofounder Mustafa Suleyman (who is now CEO of Microsoft AI), as well as efforts from other collaborators, like David Silver’s Ineffable Intelligence.

Hassabis also emerged as a recurring figure on the fringes of the recent Elon Musk v. Sam Altman trial, cropping up repeatedly in testimonies and court documents and appearing to live, as The Verge put it, “rent-free” in Musk’s head.

Founded in 2021, Anthropic has recently raised funding at a reported $900 billion valuation, sending it soaring ahead of competitor OpenAI.

Latest Stories

Sherwood Media, LLC and Chartr Limited produce fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and are fully owned subsidiaries of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate, including Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, Robinhood Securities, LLC, Robinhood Crypto, LLC, Robinhood Money, LLC, Robinhood U.K. Ltd, Robinhood Derivatives, LLC, Robinhood Gold, LLC, Robinhood Asset Management, LLC, Robinhood Credit, Inc., Robinhood Ventures DE, LLC and, where applicable, its managed investment vehicles.
©2026 Sherwood Media, LLC