Copyright timesnownews
Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella has received his biggest paycheck yet since taking the top job in 2014, with total compensation for fiscal year 2025 rising to $96.5 million. This significant increase comes as the company continues to strengthen its leadership in artificial intelligence, a move that the board says justifies the generous payout. According to a note from Microsoft’s board compensation committee, cited by Bloomberg, the results "demonstrate that Satya Nadella and his leadership team have positioned Microsoft as a clear artificial intelligence leader for this generational technology shift." The board stressed that Nadella’s strategic direction has been crucial in shaping Microsoft’s competitive edge in AI. A large portion of Nadella’s earnings, nearly 90 per cent, came in the form of stock awards, while his base salary stood at $2.5 million. This aligns with Microsoft's performance-based pay model, which heavily ties executive compensation to shareholder value and long-term company growth, added the report. Not Just Nadella: Other Execs See Pay Bumps Microsoft’s top leadership saw broader gains in compensation as well. Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood earned $29.5 million for the fiscal year, while Judson Althoff, recently promoted to head Microsoft’s commercial operations, received a $28.2 million package, claims the report. For comparison, Nadella’s compensation last year totalled $79.1 million, a figure that had already reflected a 63 per cent year-over-year increase. The bulk of that amount came from stock awards worth over $71 million, alongside $5.2 million from the 'Non-equity Incentive Plan' and $169,791 in other benefits. Still Not The Highest-Paid CEO Despite the eye-popping figure, Nadella is not the highest-paid chief executive in the US. That title currently belongs to Jim Anderson, CEO of Coherent, who earned a staggering $101,497,009 in 2024. According to a report cited by Mint and compiled by Equilar, more than 90 per cent of Anderson’s compensation was in long-term equity awards. Nadella remains the third person to hold the CEO role at Microsoft, having taken over from Steve Ballmer in 2014. Under his leadership, the company has seen massive growth in cloud services, enterprise software, and most recently, AI development.
