Microsoft CEO Ballmer’s Salary Up 4 Percent in ‘09

Microsoft raises CEO Steve Ballmer's salary by 4 percent as the company's profit's plunged.

Microsoft Corp. says it raised CEO Steve Ballmer’s salary by 4 percent in fiscal 2009 as the software maker’s profit plunged 17 percent on weak personal computer sales. Ballmer’s salary rose to $665,883 from $640,833, according to a preliminary filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The CEO’s bonus was $700,000 last year.

Microsoft didn’t disclose Ballmer’s bonus for fiscal 2009. In an uncommon move, the company’s board proposed a “say-on-pay” measure that would give shareholders a chance to weigh in every three years on executive compensation. Microsoft’s 2009 earnings fell to $14.6 billion from $17.7 billion in 2008. Sales dropped 3 percent to $58.4 billion, the first time its revenue declined since it went public in 1986.