Brandon Sawalich Net Worth 2026

No reputable publisher has released a net worth estimate for Brandon Sawalich, and the $489 million figure and $23 million-a-year income table that appeared on this page had no source, so we have removed them. Sawalich is president and CEO of Starkey Hearing Technologies, a private hearing aid maker in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, founded by his stepfather, Bill Austin. He joined Starkey as a 19-year-old in 1994, became president in 2017 and CEO in 2020, and now leads more than 5,000 employees with facilities in over 29 countries.

What Is Brandon Sawalich's Net Worth?

There is no published estimate. Starkey is privately held and does not report its financials or executive pay, and there is no public record of whether Sawalich personally owns shares in the company. Earlier reporting put Starkey's annual revenue at about $800 million in 2015 and 2016, according to the Star Tribune, and the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reported in April 2026 that he expected about 10% revenue growth that year. Those are company numbers, not his.

One public detail about his pay: in December 2022, when Starkey furloughed 84 workers citing inflation and recession fears, Sawalich told the Star Tribune that he and chair Bill Austin had stopped receiving compensation while other executives took pay cuts.

Career at Starkey

Sawalich told Chief Executive magazine in September 2026 that he started with a summer job in Starkey's hearing aid repair department after his first year of college, then took what he called a gap year to work full time and never went back. He has since worked across the business, including a long stint as senior vice president of sales and marketing.

The 2015–2016 Shake-Up

Starkey went through a difficult stretch in late 2015. Bill Austin fired president Jerry Ruzicka and several other senior executives, and federal agents searched former executives' homes. A lawsuit by one fired executive claimed the dispute began when Ruzicka refused to promote Sawalich, and made allegations about his spending and qualifications; Starkey disputed the claims. The federal case focused on the former executives: in 2018 Ruzicka and others were convicted of fraud and embezzlement and sent to prison, the Star Tribune later reported, and Forbes noted Ruzicka received a seven-year sentence. Sawalich was not charged.

Starkey's Place in the Industry

Starkey is one of the few large hearing aid makers based in the United States in a business dominated by a handful of European manufacturers. In 2016 the Star Tribune reported that it ranked fourth in U.S. hearing aid sales with about 16% of the market, and that its new patent filings had fallen to a nine-year low in 2015. Since then the market has changed: in 2022 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allowed hearing aids to be sold over the counter without a fitting by an audiologist. Sawalich said at the time that Starkey's furloughs that year were driven by inflation and recession fears, not by the over-the-counter rule.

Recent Changes (2025–2026)

Starkey's biggest recent product is Omega AI, launched worldwide in October 2025. The Hearing Review reported that the company called it its most successful launch to date, contributing to record results. The device uses a deep neural network processor to adjust to noisy settings, and adds health tracking, fall detection, a balance tool and real-time translation through the My Starkey app. In January 2026 the Business Intelligence Group gave Omega AI a product award and named Sawalich its overall individual winner.

In a September 2026 interview with Chief Executive, Sawalich described investments in factory automation and a reorganized global manufacturing and distribution network, and said the company keeps a separate advanced research team working on technology several years away. Starkey was also named a Star Tribune Top Workplace for a fifth straight year in 2026.

Family

Sawalich is the son of Tani Austin and the stepson of Starkey founder Bill Austin, CBS News reported in 2015. Tani Austin has long been involved in the company and its charitable foundation, which is known for donating hearing aids to people in need around the world. The old page named a spouse and gave a height, neither of which we could confirm; both were removed.

Net Worth Compared

For other chief executives on this site, compare Larry Potterfield of MidwayUSA, another long-running family-owned company, and Charles Loflin. We have also profiled Brandon Rafi and Brett Gottlieb.

Why There Is No Reliable Figure

Private-company CEOs' pay and equity are not disclosed unless the company files with regulators, and Starkey does not. Ownership rests with the Austin family, and how that is structured is not public. We will add an estimate only if a reputable outlet publishes one.