Introduction
Wikimedia, the nonprofit organization that hosts and supports Wikipedia, has recently become the subject of an online conversation regarding the salaries of its executives. This discussion has highlighted the contrast between their earnings and those of other prominent figures in the tech industry.
Wikimedia and Wikipedia
Wikimedia Foundation manages the technical backend of Wikipedia, while the pages themselves are created and edited by a community of volunteers. The foundation annually publishes its financial information, including IRS filings, on its website.
Online Conversation Starts
A screenshot of Wikimedia's 2021 IRS filing, focusing on executive salaries, was shared on social media platform X. The post quickly gained traction, amassing 9 million views and 5,000 likes. This ignited a discussion about salaries in the tech world.
Executive Salaries Revealed
According to the IRS filing, Katherine Maher, Wikimedia's former CEO who left in April 2021, earned $789,495 in 2021. The filing also revealed that COO Janeen Uzzell, who departed in June 2021, made $503,844 during that year. Both executives received severance payments as part of their compensation.
Furthermore, CFO Jaime Villagomez earned $386,433, while general counsel Amanda Keton received $396,514. Vice presidents Carol Dunn and Margaret Novotny earned $241,438 and $242,379, respectively.
Disparity in Salaries
While some online users criticized the disclosed salary information as a "grift," the majority of comments focused on the significant difference between the salaries of Wikimedia's top executives and those of other tech leaders.
One individual highlighted the importance of Wikipedia entries to Google's search engine results and argued that Wikimedia executives should earn more than Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Another commenter pointed out that the CEO of Docusign, a company specializing in document signing, earned $85,940,000 in the same year.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai's total compensation in 2022 amounted to $225 million, while Docusign CEO Allan Thygesen received $85 million, as reported in their respective SEC filings.
Additionally, someone mentioned that a mid-career software engineer at Facebook earns more than the disclosed salaries. Reports suggest that entry-level software engineers at Meta, Facebook's parent company, can make over $170,000, with salaries reaching up to $308,148 (excluding stock options).
Wikipedia's Significance
Wikipedia remains one of the most visited websites globally, ranking seventh in November, according to web analytics firm SimilarWeb. The platform's influence extends beyond human users, as Google has been paying the Wikimedia Foundation to incorporate substantial portions of Wikipedia's information. Moreover, Wikipedia serves as a vital source of training data for AI tools like ChatGPT.
Conclusion
The debate surrounding Wikimedia executive salaries highlights the ongoing conversation about wage discrepancies in the tech industry. As one of the most prominent online platforms, Wikipedia's importance and influence continue to shape discussions about compensation in the digital landscape.
—————————————————————————————————————————————
By: kteo@insider.com (Kai Xiang Teo)
Title: The Salaries of Wikimedia Executives Spark Online Debate About Tech Sector Wages
Sourced From: www.businessinsider.com/wikipedia-wikimedia-executive-salaries-sparking-debate-tech-sector-wages-2023-12
Published Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2023 10:10:34 +0000
Related posts:
Microsoft and Amazon Web Services Executives Withdraw from Tech Conference Amid Fake Female Speaker Controversy
Gift Ideas for Tech Executives: What to Buy for Billionaires
Report states that Twitter executives encouraged advertisers to be flexible with Elon Musk’s unpredictable nature as the company continues to lose advertising dollars.
Elon Musk reportedly gave his Musk Foundation charity $5.7 billion of the mysterious $5.7 Billion donation he made last year.
Leave a Reply