You remember the guy. Long hair, looking more like a roadie for Pearl Jam than a fintech executive, standing in a sterile office telling his employees they were all getting a massive raise. In 2015, Dan Price of Gravity Payments became the internet's favorite hero overnight. He slashed his own million-dollar salary to $70,000 so he could pay every single person in his company that same minimum.
It was a total media firestorm.
Rush Limbaugh called him a "communist." Business schools treated him like a lab rat. But for a few years, it actually seemed to work. Then things got messy. Like, really messy. If you haven't checked in on the "70k CEO" lately, the story hasn't just changed; it's completely flipped.
The Experiment That Shook the Corporate World
Basically, Dan Price wasn't just doing this for the "likes," though he certainly got them. He claimed the idea hit him after a hike with a friend who was struggling with a $200 rent increase. It made him realize that while he was living the high life, his staff were barely scraping by. He pointed to a famous Princeton study suggesting that happiness peaks around the $75,000 mark.
Everything after that? Diminishing returns.
So, he put his money where his mouth was. He mortgaged his houses. He emptied his stocks. Or at least, that’s what the press releases said. Gravity Payments, a credit card processing company based in Seattle, suddenly became the poster child for "conscious capitalism."
The results were, honestly, pretty staggering at first.
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- Employee retention tripled.
- Customer retention rates jumped.
- Profits actually increased because the staff were so motivated.
- The "Gravity Baby" Boom: Employees started having kids and buying homes because they finally had the stability to do it.
But while the world was watching the sunshine and rainbows, a legal battle was brewing behind the scenes that most people missed.
Why Dan Price Really Stepped Down
Fast forward to August 2022. The hero narrative hit a brick wall. Dan Price abruptly resigned as CEO of Gravity Payments.
He didn't leave because the $70k experiment failed. He left because he was drowning in legal trouble. Price posted on social media—where he had built a massive following of millions—that he needed to "focus full-time on fighting false accusations."
But the accusations weren't just a single incident.
First, there were the misdemeanor charges in Seattle involving an alleged assault of a woman in his car after a dinner meeting. Then came a much heavier blow: a 2022 New York Times exposé. This wasn't some tabloid hit piece. It was a deeply reported look into his personal life, alleging a pattern of predatory behavior and even claims from his ex-wife about domestic abuse during their marriage.
Price has always denied everything. He's maintained that these were "false accusations" from people looking to take him down.
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The Legal Rollercoaster (2023-2025)
The court saga has been a wild ride. In April 2023, the Seattle misdemeanor charges were dismissed. Then, in September 2024, a California grand jury indicted him on a felony rape charge involving an unconscious victim.
For a while, it looked like the "70k CEO" was heading for a very different kind of headline.
However, in a surprising turn of events in May 2025, California prosecutors dropped those felony charges. Why? They cited a "lack of prosecutable evidence" beyond a reasonable doubt. While the accuser expressed deep frustration, Price's legal team celebrated it as a total vindication.
Where is Dan Price in 2026?
So, is he back? Sorta.
He isn't the CEO anymore. Tammi Kroll, who was the COO for years, took the reins and hasn't let go. She’s the one actually running the day-to-day operations of Gravity Payments now.
But as of May 2024, Price officially returned to the company in an advisory role. He’s basically the strategy guy now, working behind the scenes rather than being the face of the brand. His social media presence, which used to be a non-stop stream of "tax the rich" and "pay your workers" tweets, has stayed relatively quiet compared to his peak years.
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What Most People Get Wrong About the $70k Wage
One of the biggest misconceptions is that the $70,000 salary ruined the company.
It didn't.
Gravity Payments is still around. They’re still processing billions in transactions. They didn't go bankrupt. If anything, the experiment proved that a company can survive and even thrive with a high floor for wages. The downfall of Dan Price was a personal and legal one, not a business one.
Actually, it's worth noting that several other companies tried to mimic his model. Some succeeded; others realized that without a high-margin business, it's nearly impossible to pull off.
The Lesson for Small Business Owners
If you're a founder looking at the Dan Price story, the takeaway isn't "don't pay your people." It’s actually more nuanced.
- Transparency is a Double-Edged Sword: Price used his personal brand to grow Gravity, but when his personal life cratered, it nearly took the company with him.
- The Math Usually Works: Raising wages does reduce turnover. Replacing an employee costs about 1.5x to 2x their annual salary. When you look at it that way, a $70k minimum might actually be cheaper than constant hiring and training.
- Culture is Fragile: Gravity survived the scandal because Tammi Kroll and the internal team stayed focused on the mission while the founder was in court.
Actionable Insights for 2026
The saga of Dan Price of Gravity Payments is a cautionary tale of "Hero Worship" in business. You can love the policy and still be wary of the person.
If you want to apply some of the "Gravity" logic to your own life or business without the drama, here is what actually matters:
- Audit Your Pay Floor: You don't need to jump to $70k tomorrow. But look at the "living wage" in your specific zip code. If your lowest-paid person can't afford a one-bedroom apartment without a roommate, your turnover will stay high.
- Decouple Brand from Founder: If you are a founder, make sure your company's value proposition isn't 100% tied to your face. If you get "canceled" or just want to retire, the business needs to stand on its own.
- Watch the Results, Not the Tweets: The social media version of this story was always a caricature. The real story is in the company's retention data and the lives of the 100+ people who still work there.
The experiment at Gravity Payments proved that radical pay structures are sustainable. Whether the man who started it is a hero or a villain depends entirely on which court filing or press release you choose to believe.