Inside Microsoft’s $3 trillion Empire: Who really owns tech giant, Satya Nadella or Bill Gates?

On a recent Friday news, Microsoft experienced a significant outage that disrupted various sectors worldwide including banks, airlines, media, and businesses around the globe. This incident underscored just how crucial Microsoft is in today’s world. But who owns this tech giant? Is it Bill Gates, the founder, or Satya Nadella, the current CEO? Additionally, many wonder about the company's financial standing. In this article, let's take a look into who holds the reins at Microsoft and reveal the impressive net worth of this tech powerhouse.

Ownership Breakdown of Microsoft

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Microsoft Corporation's ownership is distributed among retail, institutional, and individual investors. Institutional investors hold a major share, accounting for approximately 69.14% of the company's equity. These institutional investors include large entities such as insurance companies and mutual funds. Among them, 'The Vanguard Group' is the largest, with around 9% of Microsoft's shares, reported in DNA India.

Individual investors and the general public own the remaining shares, which amounts to 23.13% of Microsoft's total equity. Company insiders, including officers and board members, hold about 7.73% of the shares. Among these insiders, Satya Nadella, the current CEO of Microsoft, is the largest shareholder, owning 801,331 shares as of May 2024. Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, holds roughly 2.79% of the company's shares.

Net Worth of Microsoft

As of July 25, 2024, according to Companies Marketcap, Microsoft boasts a market capitalization, or net worth, of approximately $3.187 trillion. This represents a substantial over 30% increase in its market value over the past year, underlining its significant and growing impact on the global market.

All about Satya Nadella

AP

Satya Narayana Nadella is an Indian-American business executive who is currently the CEO and Chairman of Microsoft Corporation. He joined Microsoft in 1992 and quickly rose through the ranks to become a top leader. Leading one of the largest tech companies in the world, Nadella has many responsibilities and earns a significant salary for his role.

Nadella was born and raised in Hyderabad, a city in southern India. He studied electrical engineering at Mangalore University and graduated with a B.Sc. degree in 1988. He then moved to the United States and earned a master's degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1990.

Nadella started his career at Sun Microsystems, Inc., working in technology. In 1992, he joined Microsoft and initially worked on developing Windows NT, an operating system for business users. While at Microsoft, he also earned an MBA from the University of Chicago in 1997.

Nadella's career at Microsoft was marked by steady and impressive progress. By 1999, he was vice president of Microsoft bCentral, a service for small businesses. Two years later, he became corporate vice president of Microsoft Business Solutions. In 2007, he was promoted to senior vice president of research and development for the online services division. From 2011 to 2013, he was president of Microsoft's server and tools business, which brought in about $19 billion in revenue each year.

Nadella also played a key role in cloud computing. He was the executive vice president in charge of Microsoft's cloud computing platform, which supports services like the Bing search engine, the Xbox Live gaming network, and Office 365.

On February 4, 2014, Satya Nadella became the CEO of Microsoft. He is the third person to hold this position in the company's history, following co-founder Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. One of his early tasks was overseeing Microsoft's $7.2 billion purchase of Nokia's mobile device business. In 2016, under his leadership, Microsoft acquired LinkedIn, the professional networking site.

As of 2023, Satya Nadella's net worth is estimated to be around Rs 7,500 crore, according to Business Today.

While Satya Nadella is a key figure in Microsoft's ownership, the company’s shares are broadly distributed among various investors. Microsoft's impressive net worth reflects its prominent position in the tech industry and its continued growth and success.