"Surprisingly low": Here's how much Nintendo's top executives earn

According to Nintendo's Annual Report 2026, President Shuntaro Furukawa received compensation of $2.00 million during the last fiscal year. Shigeru Miyamoto earned $1.54 million, Shinya Takahashi $1.16 million, and Satoru Shibata $1.03 million. Takahashi and Shibata also received employee salaries in addition to their executive compensation, bringing Takahashi's total pay to $1.48 million and Shibata's to $1.22 million. Combined, the four Nintendo executives received approximately $6.24 million in total compensation. Nintendo reports these figures in Japanese yen, but we have converted them into U.S. dollars to make comparisons easier.

"Surprisingly low"

On Reddit, the overwhelming majority of users describe Nintendo's executive compensation as "surprisingly modest" given the company's success. Many compare the figures with the significantly larger pay packages awarded to executives at major Western companies. For comparison, EA CEO Andrew Wilson received total compensation of $30.53 million during fiscal year 2025, including stock awards – nearly five times as much as the combined compensation of Nintendo's four executives. The gap is even larger at Microsoft. CEO Satya Nadella, whose responsibilities extend well beyond the Xbox business, received approximately $96.5 million during fiscal year 2025.

Within the community, the comparatively modest compensation reflects positively on Nintendo. Shigeru Miyamoto, in particular, is widely seen as surprisingly unassuming, considering he is regarded as the creative force behind Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda. Given his decades-long influence on Nintendo and the video game industry as a whole, many expected his compensation to be substantially higher. Some users, however, urge caution when making direct comparisons. Executive salaries in Japan are generally much lower than in the United States, making one-to-one comparisons somewhat misleading. Even so, that has done little to change the overall sentiment.