Lawsuit claims Larry Page personally approved a $150M stock grant to Andy Rubin without getting board approval, despite sexual harassment allegations
- Company co-founder bypassed board, revised investor suit says — Tech giant accused of covering up executive sexual misconduct
Context & Ripple Effects
This filing escalates a fight that began in January, when a shareholder sued Alphabet's board for breaching fiduciary duty over executive misconduct payouts the original board lawsuit. The revised complaint now names Larry Page directly, alleging he personally approved a $150M stock grant to Andy Rubin without board approval — on top of reporting that Rubin left Google with $90M after a credible misconduct allegation Rubin's $90M exit.
The same day's coverage adds Amit Singhal's alleged $45M exit package to the pattern, making this less about one payout and more about whether founders could bypass the board entirely. The stakes are real: Alphabet later settled the shareholder suit by eliminating mandatory arbitration and limiting NDAs Alphabet's 2020 settlement.
First-order effects
- Larry Page is now personally exposed as a defendant-adjacent actor rather than a bystander — the suit alleges his individual approval of the $150M grant, shifting scrutiny from board process to founder conduct.
Second-order effects
- Alphabet's board faces pressure to document grant approvals and exit packages, since the January fiduciary-duty suit plus these new allegations give plaintiffs a concrete paper trail of payouts made outside normal approval channels.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds toward the eventual settlement terms — no mandatory arbitration, constrained NDAs — Silicon Valley's standard machinery for quietly exiting accused executives erodes, pushing boards toward public accountability over private payouts.
The trend: Shareholder litigation is converting quiet executive-misconduct settlements into structural governance reform at major tech companies.