Google’s Larry Page Gave Android Creator $150 Million Stock Grant After Misconduct Claim: Lawsuit

Alphabet CEO Larry Page allegedly gave Andy Rubin—the creator of Android software—a large stock grant without board approval after Rubin was accused of misconduct, an investor complaint lawsuit claimed. According to Bloomberg, Page allegedly gave Rubin a $150 million stock grant days before Rubin received a board-approved “equity compensation package” and a “$90 million severance package.” Page, the chief executive of Google’s parent company, offered Rubin praise when he left Google in 2014, after he’d been accused of coercing a co-worker into performing oral sex on him in 2013. The company did not publicly disclose the sexual misconduct allegation at the time, and Google reportedly invested in Rubin’s venture capital firm after his departure.

The Wall Street Journal also reported the company agreed to pay Amit Singhal, its ex-senior vice president, a $45 million exit package after a female employee accused him of groping her at a “boozy off-site event.” Singhal was only paid $15 million because he joined a competitor after he left Google in 2016. In a statement, Google told the Journal there have been changes to its workplace since those incidents. “There are serious consequences for anyone who behaves inappropriately at Google,” the company said. “In recent years, we’ve made many changes to our workplace and taken an increasingly hard line on inappropriate conduct by people in positions of authority.”