This is total linkbait. Neither the startup nor the programmer are named. The split between cash and equity in the mysterious programmer's compensation is not made clear. This entire article could be fabricated and there would be no way whatsoever to prove it.
It sounds funny, but it is true. Someone who dreams up and implements something like Google Search is worth a lot more than a VP, of which you have twelve in a dozen.
Hard to say whether this particular example is true, as the other comment points out. But for top-tier engineering talent, that kind of salary isn't unheard of.
