Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella got a massive salary hike in 2025: Here’s how much he earns now

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is now one of the highest-paid tech leaders in the world, with his total pay hitting a record $96.5 million in 2025. That’s a 22% jump from last year, as per the company’s official filing.

Most of Nadella’s pay comes from Microsoft shares, not a regular salary. Only $2.5 million is his base pay, while the rest—about 90%—is tied to the company’s stock performance. This means the more Microsoft grows, the more he earns. And lately, Microsoft has been growing fast, especially in artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing.

Since Nadella became CEO in 2014, he has steered Microsoft into new technology areas like AI, Office 365, and Azure. Under his leadership, Microsoft’s stock has doubled in the past three years, and the company is now valued at nearly $4 trillion. Investors have been especially excited about the AI boom, and that surge has directly boosted Nadella’s earnings.

To put it in perspective, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang earned $49.9 million in 2025, and Apple’s Tim Cook made $74.6 million in 2024. Even though tech CEOs often earn more than most corporate leaders, Nadella’s package is well above the median CEO pay in the S&P 500, which was around $17 million in 2024.

The board of directors says Nadella’s pay increase reflects his success in positioning Microsoft as a leader in AI and other emerging technologies. For now, as long as Microsoft keeps riding the AI wave and growing its value, Nadella’s pay is likely to keep rising too.

In short, Nadella’s record-breaking compensation shows how much the tech giant values his leadership—and how tied executive pay has become to a company’s market success.