How Much Is Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla Worth After the COVID-19 Vaccine’s Success?
Albert Bourla, the CEO of Pfizer since 2019, has been compensated significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. What's his net worth now?
March 4 2022, Updated 9:32 a.m. ET
You may not know the name Albert Bourla, but you’re likely familiar with the company he has worked for over the past 25 years. Bourla is the executive chairman and CEO of Pfizer, the company behind the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine developed in 2020 and an oral medication, Paxlovid, which was authorized for emergency use in December 2021.
Pfizer is a pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with the stated purpose of “working together for a healthier world.” Bourla has been with Pfizer since 1993. How much money has Bourla made over two-and-a-half decades there and now as CEO?
Albert Bourla
CEO and Chairman of Pfizer
Net worth: $35.3 million
Albert Bourla, DVM, Ph.D. is the Chairman and CEO of Pfizer, a company that developed a COVID-19 vaccine and pill used to treat COVID-19 symptoms, although the oral medication is still under clinical trials. Bourla began his career at Pfizer in 1993 and has held many titles including COO and Group President of Pfizer Innovative Health.
Date of Birth: October 21, 1961
Spouse: Myriam Alchanati Bourla
Children: 2
Education: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki: Doctorate in Biotechnology of Reproduction
Albert Bourla's career at Pfizer began in Europe.
Bourla was trained as a doctor of veterinary medicine and has a Ph.D. in the biotechnology of reproduction. His first several years at Pfizer were completed in Europe in the Animal Health Division. In 2001, he moved to the U.S. to Pfizer's global headquarters in New York.
Bourla's Pfizer roles since 2010:
- 2010 to 2013: president and general manager of Pfizer’s Established Products business
- January 2014 to January 2016: group president of Pfizer’s Global Vaccines, Oncology, and Consumer Healthcare business (working to build the company’s position in vaccines and oncology)
- February 2016 to December 2017: group president of Pfizer Innovative Health, including the Consumer Healthcare, Inflammation & Immunology, Internal Medicine, Oncology, Rare Disease, and Vaccines business groups
- January 2018 to January 2019: Pfizer’s COO
- January 2019 to the present: CEO
Bourla made news in November 2020 when his sale of 62 percent of his Pfizer shares happened to coincide with the announcement of the Pfizer vaccine's effectiveness. Although the sale was a predetermined one based on the stock’s price, many thought he was unfairly cashing in on the company’s vaccine success with the $5.6 million proceeds.
How much does Albert Bourla make as Pfizer CEO?
Predictably, most of Bourla’s net worth is tied up in Pfizer stock. According to Wallmine, Bourla owns over 123,055 units of Pfizer stock as of March 4, 2022, worth over $11.7 million. During the last eight years, Bourla reportedly “sold PFR stock worth over $5,557,386,” and earns a salary of $17,929,000 as both chairman and CEO the company.
FiercePharma reported in March 2021 that Bourla’s CEO compensation package for 2020 was $21.03 million. As is common practice for corporate CEO pay, a small percentage of the total compensation was from salary, while the remainder came from bonus pay and long-term Pfizer stock options.
Bourla’s cash incentive pay was $5.49 million, and his long-term incentive compensation in the form of Pfizer options was $14 million. The Pfizer CEO's base salary was $1.65 million of his $21.03 million total compensation.
In comparison, AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot earned $21.5 million in 2020, and Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky made $30 million. In 2019, his first year as CEO, Bourla earned $19.7 million, and as COO in 2018, his compensation was $9.85 million.
Currently, Bourla has an estimated net worth of $35.3 million.
Pfizer’s Comirnaty vaccine was the first COVID-19 vaccine to receive FDA approval.
Bourla stands to continue to profit off Pfizer’s success, especially after the company’s COVID-19 vaccine received full FDA approval in August 2021. The approval gave organizations more leverage to mandate shots for employees or participants.
In a press release about the FDA approval, Bourla said, “I am hopeful this approval will help increase confidence in our vaccine, as vaccination remains the best tool we have to help protect lives and achieve herd immunity.”
After the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was approved for use by the FDA, Pfizer developed a booster shot to be administered six months after the completion of the primary series. The agency approved Pfizer’s booster shot in September 2021.
Pfizer developed a COVID-19 pill used to treat symptoms related to the virus.
On November 5, 2021, Pfizer announced yet another breakthrough the company experienced while working toward beating the COVID-19 pandemic. Pfizer developed an oral antiviral medication called Paxlovid, which is “found to reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by 89 percent compared to placebo in non-hospitalized high-risk adults with COVID-19.”
Although Pfizer's COVID-19 pill hasn't been approved for use by all yet, the FDA did approve it for emergency use in December 2021.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla details the development of his company's COVID-19 treatments in new book.
Bourla is scheduled to speak with CBS correspondent Alina Cho on March 6, 2022, to discuss his new book Moonshot: Inside Pfizer's Nine-Month Race to Make the Impossible Possible. Bourla's book will be released on March 8, 2022, in hardcover, eBook, and audio formats, reports Harper Business.
In Bourla's new book, you can expect to receive an "exclusive first-hand, behind-the-scenes story of how Pfizer raced to create the first COVID-19 vaccine," all narrated by Pfizer's CEO. Bourla's book can be purchased on Amazon and Indiebound, and retails for $29.99 in the U.S. and $36.99 in Canada.