Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has achieved the highest annual compensation of his decade-long leadership, earning a total of $96.5 million for fiscal year 2025, a 22% increase compared to the previous year.
According to the company’s regulatory filing, more than $84 million of Nadella’s pay package came from stock awards, while $9.5 million was granted as cash bonuses. The compensation is heavily tied to Microsoft’s stock performance, which soared roughly 30% over the past year as the company’s valuation surpassed $3.5 trillion.
Since taking over from Steve Ballmer in 2014, Nadella has transformed Microsoft into a powerhouse of cloud computing and artificial intelligence, steering major investments like the OpenAI partnership and expanding the Azure ecosystem.
However, critics argue that Nadella’s massive payday highlights a growing inequality gap in Silicon Valley, where executive wealth surges while employee wages stagnate. To supporters, though, the number simply reflects the scale of Microsoft’s dominance under Nadella’s strategic vision.