Microsoft just gave CEO Satya Nadella a big raise
Sadella made headlines last year when he asked the company's board to cut his salary following a number of cybersecurity issues at the company
Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Microsoft $MSFT's Satya Nadella is riding the artificial intelligence boom towards a major compensation boost. The CEO's total pay for fiscal 2025 increased by 22% to $96.5 million, the tech giant revealed in a proxy filing Tuesday afternoon.
That's a big jump from last year's $79.1 million and 2023's $48.5 million. While Nadella's base salary remained the same, the value of his stock awards benefited from the company's increased stock price. Microsoft shares are up 25% year to date.
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The pay increase follows several rounds of staff cuts at the software firm. In January, Microsoft laid off roughly 1% of its workers, citing performance-based reasons. Then, the company cut 6,000 workers in May and another 9,000 employees in July, in the company's biggest round of layoffs in two years.
“We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace,” a company spokesperson said at the time.
Nadella has since said the job cuts had “been weighing heavily” on him.
Nadella, last year, was the country's 12th highest paid CEO, according to the AFL-CIO. The 2025 compensation number, compared against the 2024 totals in that list would move him to fifth (though, as yet, the pay numbers of those CEOs have not been announced).
The average employee at Microsoft makes $115,590 a year, according to ZipRecruiter.
Sadella made headlines last year when he asked the company's board to cut his salary following a number of cybersecurity issues at the company. Specifically, he requested that his cash incentive be cut in half.