New Microsoft CEO pay tops $80 million with big stock awards

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp's new Chief Executive Satya Nadella has become one the technology industry's biggest earners, with a total compensation package worth $84.3 million this year, according to a document filed with securities regulators on Monday.

The outsize number is mostly made up of the estimated value of certain one-time stock awards given to Nadella, who became the company's third CEO in February. Most of it Nadella cannot actually receive until 2019.

The massive stock awards, valued at $79.8 million overall, were designed to keep Nadella at Microsoft while the company was hunting for a new CEO, and to give him long-term incentives as CEO.

Large stock awards have not been necessary for Microsoft's previous two CEOs, Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, as both had multi-billion dollar holdings in the company.

Looking forward, Nadella's compensation is set to be more modest, with "total target compensation" for fiscal 2015 set at $18 million, according to the company's proxy filing.

(Reporting by Bill Rigby; Editing by Bernard Orr)