Name: Dara Khosrowshahi
Net worth: Approx. $170 million Executive pay: $24.3 million
Company: Uber
Bio: Khosrowshahi was born in 1969 in Iran to a prominent, wealthy family and was raised in a mansion on his family's estate. He is the youngest of three children born to Lili and Asghar (Gary) Khosrowshahi. The family established the Alborz Investment Company, a diversified conglomerate involved in various industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food, distribution, packaging, trading, and services. In 1978, just before the Iranian Revolution, his family faced threats due to their wealth, prompting his mother to make the difficult decision to abandon everything and escape the country. Their business was later taken over by the government. Initially seeking refuge in southern France, the family intended to return to Iran once the political situation improved. However, with the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war and no signs of improvement, they decided to immigrate to the United States. They settled in Tarrytown, New York, living with one of his uncles.
Dara Khosrowshahi graduated from Brown University in 1991 with a BA in electrical engineering.
Khosrowshahi became CEO of Uber in 2017, following the resignation of previous CEO and Co-founder Travis Kalanick. Uber reportedly paid him over $200 million to take the position.
Mark D. Okerstrom took over as CEO of Expedia after Khosrowshahi’s departure to join Uber, leaving him to forfeit the stock options Expedia had previously given him as part of a long-term employment agreement.
He is also a member of the board of directors of BET.com and Hotels.com and sits on the board of The New York Times Company.
Did you know: He held the title of the highest-paid CEO in the United States at one point. Khosrowshahi was identified as the top-paid chief executive of a U.S. public corporation in 2015, as per a report jointly prepared by Equilar and the Associated Press. The analysis, focusing on S&P 500 CEOs, revealed that Khosrowshahi's total compensation amounted to $94.6 million, marking an 881 percent increase in pay compared to the previous year. The CEO's earnings for 2015 comprised a $1 million salary, a $2.8 million bonus, and $90.8 million in stock options, as outlined in the company's annual report.
Quote: "Desperation sometimes drives innovation." - Dara Khosrowshahi
