Satya Nadella led Microsoft’s reported fiscal 2021 executive-compensation ranking at $49.86 million. The next-highest reported totals were about $28.5 million for Christopher D. Young, about $23.5 million for Amy E. Hood, about $20.5 million for Bradford L. Smith, and about $16.8 million for Jean-Philippe Courtois. These are historical fiscal-year figures, not a current pay ranking.
Microsoft’s five highest-paid executives in fiscal 2021
CRN reported the following total-compensation figures from Microsoft disclosures filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The ranking below runs from highest to lowest; the four rounded amounts retain CRN’s “about” qualification.
| Rank | Executive | Reported fiscal 2021 total compensation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Satya Nadella | $49.86 million |
| 2 | Christopher D. Young | About $28.5 million |
| 3 | Amy E. Hood | About $23.5 million |
| 4 | Bradford L. Smith | About $20.5 million |
| 5 | Jean-Philippe Courtois | About $16.8 million |
CRN’s report attributes the figures to Microsoft filings. They are reported totals, not estimates of cash salary alone.
What made up Nadella’s reported total
CRN reported Nadella’s $49.86 million total as comprising a $2.5 million base salary, $33 million in stock awards, $14.2 million in non-equity incentive plan compensation, and $109,750 in other compensation. The components show why total compensation should not be read as annual salary: stock awards and incentive compensation accounted for most of the reported amount.
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How to interpret the figures
They cover a completed fiscal year
Microsoft fiscal 2021 ended June 30, 2021. The ranking describes compensation reported for that period and should not be treated as a ranking for a later year.
The pay ratio is a separate comparison
CRN also reported that Nadella’s annual total compensation was 282 times the median employee’s annual total compensation for fiscal 2021. This ratio compares two reported compensation measures; it is not a comparison of Nadella’s base salary with an employee’s salary.
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Company performance provides context, not an explanation of individual pay
For fiscal 2021, CRN reported Microsoft sales of $168.1 billion, up 18 percent year over year, and profits of $61.3 billion, up 38 percent. The same article reproduced the company’s description of the year as “another year of historic financial performance.” Those company-wide results provide context for the period, but do not by themselves explain how each executive’s compensation was determined.
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