Satya Nadella’s Pay Package Surges To $96.5 Million Amid AI Boom — Check Earnings Of Top US Tech CEOs

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella earned a whopping $96.5 million in fiscal 2025, his highest payout since taking over in 2014. Most of his compensation came from stock awards, along with $9.5 million in cash incentives and nearly $200,000 in other pay, according to a Fortune report

Nadella’s hefty pay package is mostly linked to tech giants’ stock performance, driven by the rising competition in the AI landscape. In 2025, Microsoft’s shares have climbed 23%, more than doubling in value, over the past three years. Currently, Microsoft’s market capitalisation stands at nearly $4 trillion.

As a result, Nadella’s compensation, which is tied closely to the Microsoft stock, also rose alongside the company’s AI-fuelled gains, the report added.

According to CNBC, roughly 87% of Nadella’s pay for the year, amounting to $84 million, came from stock awards. His pay last fiscal stood at $79.1 million.

Since ChatGPT’s debut in November 2022, investors have been betting heavily on the AI-led technology companies. A Reuters report cited Citigroup strategists’ estimate, which highlighted that nearly 50% of the S&P 500’s roughly $57 trillion market capitalisation has “high” or “medium” AI exposure.

Despite warnings that the trend could mirror the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s, Microsoft’s AI momentum continues to fuel CEO Nadella’s earnings for now. Nadella became Microsoft’s third CEO in 2014, receiving an $84.3 million compensation package.

In a note to shareholders, the board’s compensation committee said that his rising pay reflects his success in positioning “Microsoft as a clear artificial intelligence leader,” guiding the company through what it called a generational technology shift.

In fiscal 2024, Nadella’s pay surged 63% from $48.5 million the prior year. Although he was eligible for a $10.66 million cash incentive, Nadella asked the board’s compensation committee to reduce it to $5.2 million in response to a series of cyberattacks that affected the company, the CNBC report added.

Compared to other tech leaders, Nadella’s reported pay is substantially higher. In May, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang received his first salary increase in a decade, with total compensation for 2025 reaching $49.9 million.

On the other hand, Apple CEO Tim Cook earned over $74.6 million in 2024. By comparison, the median total compensation for CEOs of S&P 500 companies was roughly $17.1 million in 2024, according to Fortune.

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