Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, will receive USD 79.1 million (Rs 665.04 crore) in fiscal 2024, a substantial increase in compensation. Due primarily to stock awards, this represents a 63 per cent increase over the prior year.
This is the highest salary he has received since taking over as CEO in 2014, when he was given USD 84 million (Rs 706.24 crore). Microsoft's investment in OpenAI and its developments in artificial intelligence have strengthened its position in the market, which has improved Nadella's stock-based profits.
Microsoft, $MSFT, CEO Satya Nadella received a pay package worth $79.1 million for fiscal 2024, a 63% increase from the prior year
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) October 25, 2024
In-hand salary is just 10 per cent of total package
Nearly 90 per cent of Nadella's 2024 compensation is derived from stock awards, which increased from USD 39 million (Rs 327.88 crore) to about USD 71 million (Rs 596.92 crore).
Microsoft's impressive market performance is reflected in this increase; during the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2024, its shares increased 31.2 per cent and its valuation surpassed USD 3 trillion.
Cash compensation reduced after bluescreen fisasco
Nadella asked to have his cash remuneration reduced because of cybersecurity concerns, even though the compensation package was substantial.
The initial budget of USD 10.66 million was reduced to USD 5.2 million in the wake of breaches, including those involving Russian and Chinese actors. Highlighting personal accountability in response to the breaches that drew criticism from the U.S. government, Nadella sought the adjustment himself.
Compensation packages of peer CEOs of tech companies
In contrast, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang received USD 34.2 million (Rs 287.54 crore) in 2023, while Apple CEO Tim Cook received USD 63.2 million (Rs 531.36 crore).
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Stock perfomance
The shares of Microsoft rose to a life-high level of USD 468.30 per share on July 5, 2024, on the US bourses. The share closed at USD 424.73 per share on the US bourses in the previous trading session that took place on October 24, 2024.