Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, has received a record $96.5 million pay package for fiscal year 2025, marking a 22% increase from $79 million the previous year, according to the company’s proxy filing. The bulk of his compensation—$84.2 million—came from stock awards tied to Microsoft’s soaring market value, driven by the company’s rapid advancement in artificial intelligence. He also received a $9.5 million cash bonus, a $2.5 million base salary, and $196,000 in other benefits. More than 95% of Nadella’s total compensation is performance-based, with the board citing strong shareholder returns and key business growth metrics as the main drivers. For fiscal 2025, Microsoft reported a 15% revenue increase to $281.7 billion and a 16% rise in net income to $101.8 billion. The board credited Nadella and his leadership team for positioning Microsoft as a leading force in the current generational shift toward AI, highlighting the success of products like Azure and Copilot. Nadella became Microsoft’s CEO in 2014, and his total compensation has steadily grown over the past decade—from about $18 million in 2015 to $55 million in 2022 and $79 million in 2024. The 2025 figure represents the highest in his tenure. Microsoft became the second company to reach a $3 trillion market cap, joining Apple, and has emerged as one of the most aggressive corporate investors in AI. The company is OpenAI’s largest backer, having invested over $13 billion since 2019. While the partnership has been central to Microsoft’s AI strategy, recent developments suggest a shift, with the two companies moving toward more independent paths. Last month, Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman announced plans to make significant investments in the company’s own AI chip infrastructure, aiming to achieve self-sufficiency in AI development. “It’s critical that a company of our size, with the diversity of businesses that we have, that we are, you know, able to be self-sufficient in AI, if we choose to,” he said during an internal town hall. Microsoft’s stock has risen about 23% year-to-date through Tuesday’s close, reflecting strong investor confidence in the company’s AI-driven future.