Just like any other business out there, it's the survival of the fittest. The strongest shall always embrace fame and fortune.
Microsoft is already a tech titan to begin with. But in the world where things are internet-connected and computer-powered, the company is competing with many, many other companies for the same pool of audience. Without innovations or moonshot bets, no tech companies will shine.
Satya Nadella, its CEO, is an experienced executive.
Under his leadership, Microsoft made a daring move, when it made a massive investment on OpenAI.
With Microsoft having its back, OpenAI acquired enough resources to propel itself forward and up, and making its ChatGPT one of the biggest hype of technological advancements, since the introduction of the internet and cryptocurrency.
And this time, Microsoft is finally getting the sweet taste of its investment.
While fiscal reports and financial earnings don't always make mainstream headlines, this time, things are a bit different.
As a company, Microsoft has had bumps and experienced issues here and there. But the overall value of Microsoft is at an all-time high.
Microsoft stock has skyrocketed since Nadella took over as CEO.
CEO incomes can be a complex matter, and it's even more complex for a publicly traded company.
In this case, Satya Nadella has made Microsoft earn far more money than it could think of during his tenure, so it's not surprising that he's compensated handsomely.
According to reports that cited a regulatory filing that shed light on Nadella's payouts, the CEO who is also the chairman of Microsoft, reportedly earned more than $1 billion in payouts during his time at the company.
That huge sum doesn't just refer to his salary. It also includes equity grants, salary, bonuses, and dividends.
But what's worth noting here is that, Nadella's payouts increased as AI-driven stock rally pushed Microsoft's stocks to new highs.
It's said that Microsoft's share price has increased almost 1,000% since the first day Nadella became CEO in 2014, many of which were spearheaded by Microsoft's numerous investments.
But in particular, Microsoft experienced huge about 50% surge in the year following the popularity of OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot.
One of the largest spikes of Microsoft's share was when the company revealed Microsoft 365 Copilot, At that time, the company's value spiked $154 billion in a single day.
With that bump alone, Microsoft's total cap reached $2.6 trillion.
Thanks to the share Nadella's own, it's no surprise that the CEO's fortune also skyrocketed.
While Microsoft representative Frank Shaw said that Nadella doesn't have a net worth of $1 billion, some reports speculated that the statement only covers the net worth of Nadella only, not his career earnings from his position at Microsoft.
To illustrate how much incentives and other forms of income can add up to, Nadella's salary in fiscal year 2022 was $2.5 million but his stock awards were $42.269 million.
What this means, Nadella joins an exclusive club of CEOs that have earned $1 billion, but didn't founded the company that made them rich.
Another member of the club, is Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, who became a billionaire in 2020.
What's also worth noting, the publication did not consider Nadella’s expenditures or private investments in its analysis.