Google Once Paid $100 Million To This Indian-American Man To Retain Him

Google paid an Indian-American businessman a mammoth $100 million over a decade ago to keep him from joining Twitter, now known as X. The revelation came on a recent episode of Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath's podcast when the host referenced the high-stakes talent war that once surrounded YouTube CEO Neal Mohan.

In 2011, Neal Mohan was a key player in Google's advertising and YouTube product strategy. During the podcast, Mr Kamath mentioned, "I remember reading this thing about Google offering you $100 million not to quit. Not today, but 15 years ago, which was a lot of money." Mr Mohan did not deny the claim.

According to a 2011 TechCrunch report, Google's offer was made in the form of restricted stock units that would vest over several years. It was part of Google's aggressive bid to stop Mr Mohan from joining Twitter, where his former boss David Rosenblatt joined the board and was keen on recruiting him as Chief Product Officer.

Neal Mohan, who holds a degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University, began his career at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) before moving to NetGravity. The startup was acquired by DoubleClick, where Mr Mohan rose through the ranks and eventually became Vice President of Business Operations. When Google acquired DoubleClick for $3.1 billion in 2007,  Mr Mohan transitioned into a leading role within Google's ad business.

By 2011, he was already one of the central figures in Google's product development strategy, with a growing influence on YouTube's future roadmap. Recognising his value, Google made the $100 million offer to retain him, a move that paid off in the long term. 

Neal Mohan wasn't the only target in Twitter's recruitment drive. Around the same time, Twitter also attempted to lure Sundar Pichai, then heading Chrome and Chrome OS at Google. In response, Google reportedly countered with a $50 million stock grant to retain him.

Today, both executives continue to hold influential roles in the tech world. Neal Mohan serves as the CEO of YouTube, succeeding Susan Wojcicki in 2023, while Sundar Pichai became CEO of Google in 2015 and later assumed the role of Alphabet Inc's CEO in 2019.

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