Nikesh Arora, CEO of Palo Alto Networks, now estimated to be a billionaire

The Start: Nikesh Arora was the highest-paid executive at Google in 2012, with a compensation package worth around $51 million. He went on to receive stock awards worth at least $200 million before he left the company. In 2014, he was recruited by Masayoshi Son of SoftBank Group Corp. and was given a first-year compensation package of $135 million.

But it’s Arora’s latest stint as CEO of Palo Alto Networks Inc. that’s catapulted him into the billionaire class. In 2018, when he was hired, Nikesh Arora received a $125 million stock and options compensation package. Since then, the company’s share price has risen more than four times and as a result, Arora’s stake is now valued at $830 million.

Arora’s majority stake in Palo Alto Networks is linked to over 3.4 million options he received when he joined the company. These options were contingent on meeting certain share-price targets, all of which have been accomplished, including the highest target of a 300% increase.

His 2023 compensation includes a maximum of 750,000 stock awards that vest upon the achievement of certain performance conditions, which would currently be worth more than $220 million.

Combined with the enormous pay awards he secured earlier in his career, Arora’s net worth is $1.5 billion. That makes him a rare non-founder billionaire tech CEO.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer recently described Palo Alto as “just kind of unstoppable.”

Fiscal year 2023 revenue grew 25% to $6.9 billion, and the company is predicting revenue growth in the 16-19% range going forward.

“We finished off the year with strong execution and the changing environment drove more customers towards platformization,” said Nikesh Arora, chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks. “Our strategy is resonating with a growing number of our customers, driving continued consolidation, to deliver superior security outcomes. We were delighted with the reception in the market for our AI-based security automation platform, XSIAM.”

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