17 Surprising Sundar Pichai Facts for 2023

Updated · Mar 06, 2023

Who is Sundar Pichai?

Stanford alumnus, devoted husband, visionary businessman, tech-loving millionaire—summing up the life of one of the world’s most influential men in 2022 isn't easy.

But, we at Hosting Tribunal gave it a try and will take you along for the ride.

The journey from Tamil Nadu to California has a few twists and turns, so buckle up and get ready to read the key Sundar Pichai facts you should know now that his two-decade anniversary as a Googler is just a couple of years away.

Fascinating Facts About Sundar Pichai (Editor’s Choice)

  • Sundar Pichai was born on June 10, 1972.
  • In 2004, Pichai joined Google in the product management and innovation field.
  • Pichai studied his undergraduate degree in Metallurgical Engineering back in India.
  • The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania awarded him an MBA.
  • Sundar Pichai became Google’s CEO in 2015.
  • After his appointment as Alphabet’s headman in 2019, Pichai’s net worth soared, currently reaching $1.44 billion.
  • Sundar Pichai and his wife, Anjali Pichai, have two children.

Sundar Pichai: Biography Highlights

Although Sundar Pichai needs little to no introduction, there are many things people don't know about him, including that he didn’t always have a privileged life.

In fact, Alphabet's CEO is a perfect example of how hard work can lead to success, but we’ll let you figure that out for yourself as you read along.

Ready to learn some fun facts about Sundar Pichai?

1. Sundar Pichai was born in Tamil Nadu, India.

(Source: National World)

Pichai Sundararajan was born into a small Indian family on June 10, 1972. His father (an electrical engineer) and his mother (a stenographer) encouraged him and his brother to pursue their education from early on.

Although he’s now at the helm of a multibillion-dollar tech company, Alphabet’s newest CEO didn’t have easy access to technology while growing up—Sundar Pichai’s family didn’t own a car, a TV, or even a telephone during his childhood.

2. Anjali and Sundar Pichai have two children and a dog.

(Source: Orissa Post)

Sundar met Anjali while studying at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur. After dating for some time in college, they endured a long-distance engagement (Pichai had to move to the US to further his education while Anjali remained in India) until finally getting married a couple of years later.

Now, Kiran and Kavya (Sundar Pichai's son and daughter) are the couple’s pride and joy. And, of course, there’s also Jeffree—a cute pet dog and the final piece of Pichai’s immediate family.

3. Anjali Pichai has her own thriving career in the tech world.

(Source: The Sun)

Anjali Pichai was a talented engineering student. She earned her degree as a chemical engineer at IIT Kharagpur, where she met her husband.

But more than being Sundar’s other half, she’s also a successful businesswoman of her own right. Currently, Anjali Pichai works as a business operation manager at Intuit.

4. The Pichai family built a home in California.

(Source: Business Insider)

Where does Sundar Pichai live? What’s his home life like?

As one of the world’s leading businessmen, it probably won’t come as a surprise that he owns a luxurious 10,557 square foot villa in Los Altos Hills, California.

The beautiful home comes with a tennis court, a miniature golf field, and a garage that hosts six swanky vehicles—including one of Google’s latest cars, obviously.

5. Sundar Pichai is a sports fanatic.

(Source: Stars Unfolded)

When Pichai was a young boy, he dreamed of becoming a professional cricket player. He was actually the captain of his school’s team, so we can safely say that engineering isn’t his only talent.

The Googler is also a big soccer fan—he likes Lionel Messi, Barcelona FC, and playing the occasional game himself.

Other than that, Pichai’s hobbies include reading, playing chess, sketching, and watching Bollywood movies.

6. The latest stats say Sundar Pichai is worth nearly $1.5 billion.

(Source: Wallmine)

As of November 2021, Sundar Pichai’s net worth is around $1.44 billion. The jaw-dropping figure was a byproduct of him becoming the CEO of Alphabet.

To be fair, though, this didn’t happen overnight. Throughout the better part of the last decade, he’s amassed thousands of Alphabet stock units (which, needless to say, are now worth millions).

So—understatement alert—his net worth was already fairly high before his latest assent in the corporate ladder.

But how did he go from a modest life in India to a multimillion lifestyle in California?

Sundar Pichai: Education for Success

Pichai was a bright student from his early days. He had a great passion for science and technology and wanted to pursue his career in the engineering field.

Let’s go over the highlights of his academic career.

7. Sundar Pichai attended the Jawahar Vidyalaya Secondary School.

(Source: India Today)

Sundar Pichai’s school life was arguably not the best. He was a shy boy who stayed away from girls and spent most of his time reading books.

He was a hard-working student but didn’t like every subject. His focus always revolved around science, quizzes, and puzzles. History, geography, and other related subjects didn’t hold the same interest for him (and his grades showed it).

8. Sundar Pichai joined the Indian Institute of Technology in the early 90s.

(Source: Leverage Edu)

Getting admission to the IIT is one of the most difficult tasks for any student in India. But Pichai’s interest in science and technology, along with hard work and dedication, got him a seat at the prestigious institution.

The first of Sundar Pichai’s degrees was in Metallurgical Engineering.

9. Stanford University opened its doors to Pichai in 1993.

(Source: Celeb Wale)

After completing his graduation from IIT, Sundar Pichai flew to the US to further his studies. His hard work and excellent results had gotten him a scholarship to study at Stanford University.

A couple more facts about Sundar Pichai’s academic history before moving on to his career:

Google’s frontman obtained his first postgraduate degree (an MS in Material Science and Engineering) at Stanford but decided to go to the University of Pennsylvania to get his MBA a few years later.

10. Sundar Pichai’s first job was as a management consultant.

(Source: LinkedIn)

Do you know that Google wasn’t the first place Sundar Pichai worked?

After completing his MBA from Wharton School of Business, he joined McKinsey & Company as a management consultant in 2002.

So, when did Sundar Pichai start working at Google?

He worked at Mckinsey for two years before going to the tech giant.

Sundar Pichai’s Career: The Google Playground

So far, we’ve covered Sundar Pichai’s early childhood, family life, and education. Now it’s time for us to dive deep into his professional curriculum.

Although at least a few big brands have sought him out (like Twitter, for example, and some sources say even Microsoft, too), Pichai remained loyal to Google—a decision that has certainly paid off.

Ready for some more Sundar Pichai facts?

11. Sundar Pichai joined Google in 2004.

(Source: Business Insider)

Fun fact: His job interview happened on April Fool’s day. That day, Google launched a free email service, Gmail, which many people—including Pichai—thought was a prank.

He, of course, passed the interview and soon started working as the leading product manager for the Google toolbar.

12. Google Chrome? Sundar Pichai’s idea.

(Source: Product Plan)

The launch of Google Chrome was undoubtedly the turning point of Sundar’s career history.

Before Google Chrome became a thing, Internet Explorer was getting a lot of buzz and was a direct competition to Google’s toolbar. So, Sundar Pichai thought that the company should develop its own browser.

The idea was initially shut down because of the high costs involved, but he didn’t give up—he did his research and compiled enough data to convince stakeholders to give it a go.

That was back in 2008, though, so what does Sundar Pichai do now?

13. Sundar Pichai became the CEO of Google in 2015.

(Source: Investopedia)

After Pichai’s Chrome pitch, it was hard to ignore his talent for business. Over the next few years, he started climbing up the corporate ladder—at one point, he was in charge of the Android OS, then he was managing the development of all Google platforms.

More fun Sundar Pichai facts?

He is Google’s third-ever CEO, following the footsteps of Larry Page and Sergey Brin. The year he stepped up to the position (2015) was actually the year when the company reorganized itself under Alphabet.

14. By 2019, Alphabet had itself a new CEO.

(Source: Tech Crunch)

When Sergey Brin stepped down, Sundar Pichai was selected as the new CEO of Google’s collection of companies (aka Alphabet).

So, who is the CEO of Google now? Sundar Pichai.

But then, who is the CEO of Alphabet? Sundar Pichai, too.

You see, after 15 years of undisputable success within the company, the board decided that Pichai didn’t need to quit his responsibilities as Google’s CEO to take over Alphabet’s executive position—he could simply do both.

15. Pichai won the Global Leadership award.

(Source: The American Bazaar)

2019 was certainly a monumental year in Sundar Pichai’s history. Not only did he get a promotion, but he got an award to boot.

During the ceremony, Mr. Pichai stressed the importance of listening to what others have to say, valuing people, and being compassionate—especially when one is in a leadership position.

16. In 2020, Pichai’s base salary surpassed $2 million.

(Source: Market Watch)

Sundar Pichai’s base salary more than tripled in 2020, going from $650,000 to $2.02 million in the span of a year. But that’s just the base salary—he actually earns more than that. 

You already know Sundar Pichai’s net worth ($1.4 billion, in case you don’t remember), but how much money does he actually make per year?

According to Alphabet’s records, his total compensation in 2019 totaled $280.62 million (including the equivalent of $276.61 million in stock awards).

In 2020, though, he didn’t get stock units, so the number flopped to a modest $7.43 million.

Now, the last snippet of our selection of interesting facts about Sundar Pichai:

17. He was the highest-paid CEO in the IT industry.

(Source: S&P Global)

As we mentioned above, Pichai’s earnings were quite high in 2019—even for someone in his position. Just to give you an idea, Robert Swan (from Intel) earned himself the second spot on the list with just the $66.9 million he brought home.

Lisa Su (Advanced Micro Devices), Leslie Stretch (Medallia), and Benjamin Silbermann (Pinterest) complete the 2019 lineup for the highest-paid CEOs in the industry, each boasting more than $46 million in total compensation.

Wrap Up

Did you enjoy our amazing Sundar Pichai facts?

Hopefully, we helped you understand his journey from a small village in India to the top of Alphabet’s headquarters.

Sundar Pichai has had many ups and downs in his career, but his hard work and passion for technology made him what he is today—one of the most successful men in the IT business and an inspiration to us all.

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Nick Galov
Nick Galov

Unaware that life beyond the internet exists, Nick is poking servers and control panels, playing with WordPress add-ons, and helping people get the hosting that suits them.