Founders of Zerodha, Nikhil and Nithin Kamath, earned Rs 72 crore each as salary for the financial year 2022-23. The latter’s wife, Seema Patil, earned Rs 36 crore, in the role of director. The Kamath brothers together earned about Rs 195.4 crore says an Entrackr report, while Venu Madhav, chief operating officer (COO), Zerodha, reportedly earned Rs 15.4 crore.
It is pertinent to mention here that as per media reports the employee benefits at Zerodha cost the firm about Rs 623 crore in FY23, out of which Rs 300 crore + was used to disburse salaries and the remaning was used to settle employee stock options.
The online stockbroking firm was launched in 2010, and at the time, was valued at about Rs 30,000 crore.
In 2021, the salaries of the Kamath brothers were reported to be about Rs100 crore, as per the filings of the firm two years ago. At the time, the Kamaths had clarified that this wasn’t their actual salary, and that 50 per cent went into paying taxes. Nithin Kamath had posted in social media saying that the salary was approved by the board of the firm as “an enabling resolution” to allow them as “working promoters to draw salaries up to the number in case of liquidity requirements”. The brothers had stated on social media that they did not expect their salaries would draw so much unnecessary attention, and that even though they were not obliged to offer any clarifications, they felt they needed to clarify to avoid being misinterpreted.
