FAANG stock is essentially cash equivalent because it is highly liquid. However, some companies also pay straight cash at those levels (or higher).

It's generally 50% RSUs which are stock but equivalent to cash for all intents and purposes. Only difference is that you need to stay at least a year to get paid. The post-tax money I mentioned is with everything getting taxed as income.

speaking for google, it's a mix of: base salary, annual bonus, and restricted stock units, which are taxed at vesting time.

It blows me away every time I read an article about places other than SF and NYC: I could buy an extremely nice house, in cash, in most parts of the country, for less than a reasonable down payment on a crappy house in the bay area.