Net Worth of Pat Gelsinger Explained: Former Intel CEO Who Joined at Just 18

Key Takeaways

• Pat Gelsinger recently stepped down as the CEO of Intel.
• Thanks to his career at Intel and other firms, Gelsinger’s stock portfolio is estimated to be worth over $100 million.
• Gelsinger first joined Intel as a quality control technician at the age of 18.

After three years as the CEO of Intel, Pat Gelsinger has stepped away from the company to make way for new leadership, ending a career that started over four decades ago when he joined at just 18.

However, Gelsinger didn’t spend his entire working life at Intel. Stints at EMC and VMWare also rewarded him with stock options that have boosted his estimated net worth to over $100 million.

Gelsinger’s Intel Career

Gelsinger’s journey to Intel began in 1979 when he was just 18 years old. Freshly graduated with a degree from Lincoln Technical Institute, the young Gelsinger moved to Silicon Valley to work as a quality control technician for the company.

Within a few years, he had progressed up the ranks and by the mid-eighties was helping design Intel’s cutting-edge chips as an engineer.

Gelsinger was promoted to Vice President of the Intel Products Group in 1992. At 32 years old, he was the company’s youngest-ever Vice President, at the time.

In 2001, he was appointed as Intel’s Chief Technology Officer, a role he stayed in until leaving the company to pursue other opportunities in 2009.

2009-2021: EMC and VMWare

Following thirty years of employment at Intel, Gelsinger departed in 2009 to join the data storage firm EMC (now, Dell-EMC) as President and Chief Operating Officer.

Three years later, in 2012, he became the CEO of VMWare, which was an EMC subsidiary, at the time.

Returning to Intel

After 12 years away from Intel, when Gelsinger returned in 2021, it was as the firm’s chief executive.

Gelsinger’s comeback was initially welcomed by investors. After announcing plans to reestablish the company as a major chip manufacturer to rival Samsung and TSMC, Intel stock rallied. But the excitement was short-lived.

With Intel stock down over 60% since he took the helm, in early December, Gelsinger was ousted by the board.

At 63 years of age, Gelsinger is young enough to take up another executive position elsewhere. But he is also rich enough to retire.

Sources of Gelsinger’s Wealth

For his work at Intel, EMC and VMWare, Gelsinger received a healthy executive salary alongside bonuses and stock options.

Although he missed out on a $140 million performance bonus for failing to meet financial targets, according to an analysis by Fortune, he will have earned at least $46 million, including a $12 million severance package for his time leading Intel.

A Securities and Exchange Commission filing dated Nov. 4 shows that Gelsinger directly or indirectly holds 645,874 shares in the company, currently worth nearly $12.5 million.

However, Intel stock isn’t the only source of his fortune.

Gelsinger also holds significant amounts of stock in Mobileye, where he remains on the board of directors. Before it was bought out by Broadcom, he reportedly owned around $70 million worth of VMWare shares. It isn’t known whether he accepted cash or Broadcom shares, following the acquisition.

Pat Gelsinger’s Net Worth

Although the exact makeup of his portfolio can’t be ascertained for certain, the bulk of Pat Gelsinger’s net worth can be attributed to stock he received from Intel, EMC and VMWare, as well as Mobileye shares he has purchased.

Benzinga estimates his overall net worth to be $104 million. Meanwhile, Gurufocus puts it at at least $84 million.

In Gelsinger’s Own Words

“We firmly believe in this idea of democratizing AI, opening the software stack and creating and participating with this broad industry ecosystem that’s emerging.”

“We’re diamonds in the rough and we need people to knock off those rough edges.”

“Aggressively embrace these moments and make them better, because these failures are your opportunities to learn and grow.”