Since Google’s founding in 1998, its founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, have become fabulously wealthy. Brin’s net worth is $149 billion, and Page’s is $140 billion. According to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, each is down about $20 billion this year.
Brin and Page took Google public in 2004. It changed its name to Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL | GOOGL Price Prediction) in 2015 to reflect that it is in businesses beyond its core search engine. Although neither is CEO now, they own 14% of the company’s common shares but have 56% of the voting rights due to what is known as “super majority” shares.
This year’s collapse in the share prices of mega-tech companies has dragged down Alphabet stock. It is off by almost 13% in 2025, compared to a 200% increase over the past five years.
The primary risk that shareholders, including Brin and Page, face is the large investments many companies make in artificial intelligence (AI). Alphabet will spend $75 billion on capital expenditures this year to build out its AI businesses. Futurum Group analysts recently commented on the plan: “While Alphabet remains at the forefront of AI integration, mounting competition from firms like DeepSeek and its ongoing infrastructure investments bring renewed scrutiny on capital allocation and near-term returns.” In other words, it is far too early to know if AI will give large tech companies significant returns.
Google has about 90% of the search market worldwide, and its Chrome browser has a market share of about 68%. This has brought antitrust scrutiny on Alphabet, and it faces legal challenges.
While much of Alphabet’s stock’s value is based on future prospects, some are based on past results. In the most recently reported quarter, revenue rose 13% year over year to $96.5 billion, and earnings rose from $1.64 a share to $2.15.
Despite recent financial success, Brin and Page’s net worths probably depend on Alphabet’s move into AI.
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