AI is the hottest new technology around today and one of the company’s leading the charge is Microsoft. Not only are they pushing technology forward, they are being rewarded for it. 

Since 2023, Microsoft shares have surged by more than 50 per cent, pushing the share price past a record $350 million USD (~$515 million AUD), turning their CEO, Satya Nadella, into a billionaire. 

Reports have indicated that this share price is $20 USD higher than their previous best in November, 2021. According to Bloomberg, this rise in share price has catapulted Nadella’s total earnings past the $1 billion USD mark, taking into account his salary, bonuses, equity grants, and dividends. 

Microsoft and Nadella have denied these reports with Microsoft spokesperson, Frank Shaw, telling Bloomberg that Nadella “does not have net worth of a billion dollars or more.” 

Nadella took the CEO position at the company in 2014, when Microsoft was trailing behind their competitors like Apple. Microsoft is now the second largest company in the world. In part this is due to the company’s multi-billion dollar investment in OpenAI, the company responsible for ChatGPT. They were early investors into the technology, forcing companies like Google owner, Alphabet Inc., to play catch up. 

While ChatGPT has almost become a household name, Google’s Bard system caused the company to lose $102 billion USD in value overnight due to a factual error in the technology’s announcement. 

Needless to say, Microsoft is doing well.