During a recent talk at the DealBook Summit 2024, Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, spoke open about his pay philosophy and why he still feel proud of salary many people may call modest. He said no to extra perks like board bonuses or more stock grant, saying his existing ownership in Amazon was already enough incentive.

Instead, Bezos keep same annual salary of 80000 dollar through his whole time as CEO a figure unchanged even when Amazon grow to world scale. He describe taking more money or incentive as something that “didn’t feel right,” since wealth for him always tied more with equity growth than simple salary number.

Even if the pay look modest, his net worth growth is anything but slow. Reports say his stock value bring huge gains sometime even millions in a single hour because of Amazon performance. For Bezos, the salary act more like symbol: showing that leadership not only about grab highest money, but about aligning with company’s long term health.

His position also mirror bigger trend among few tech founders who focus on future value instead of quick reward. Bezos repeat that holding big ownership is more motivating than collecting bonuses. Amazon’s compensation board respect his wish and limit his pay, which he later said made him feel “very proud with that choice.”

For many who watch, lesson is simple: it’s not always about what you earn, but about how you lead and what you value. Bezos show this by his decision, and for him, purpose come before extra pay