What is Satya Nadella’s IQ?
Is Microsoft’s CEO a genius? The record offers three degrees and no IQ score.
Satya Nadella’s IQ has never been measured in public: no test result exists, and no Satya Nadella IQ score is tied to a named source. What is documented is a 1988 engineering degree, a 1990 MS in computer science, a 1997 Chicago Booth MBA and, as of October 2026, the chairman-and-CEO post at Microsoft: CEO since February 4, 2014, chairman since June 2021.
Satya Nadella’s estimated IQ
- Three degrees: a bachelor’s in electrical engineering (1988; Microsoft’s biography names Mangalore University, while Wikipedia and Wikidata place it at the Manipal Institute of Technology), an MS in computer science from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (1990) and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business (1997).
- Joined Microsoft in 1992 after serving on the technology staff of Sun Microsystems; became senior vice president of research and development for the Online Services Division in March 2007, president of the Server & Tools Division on February 9, 2011, and executive vice president of the Cloud and Enterprise group before his appointment as CEO.
- Appointed CEO by Microsoft’s Board on February 4, 2014, the third in the company’s history after Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, and named chairman on June 16, 2021; as of October 2026, Microsoft’s July 29, 2026 earnings release describes him as chairman and CEO.
- Honors that recognize achievement: the Padma Bhushan (2022), Time 100 (2018 and 2024), Financial Times Person of the Year (2019) and, per the Academy’s own member page, election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2025.
No IQ, SAT, GRE or GMAT result has been published for Nadella, so this Satya Nadella IQ estimate is inferred from degrees and career outcomes, not measured. Running a company reflects the work of many people and the market of its time, and the degrees are real credentials that were not selected for IQ alone, so the range is a band, not a point.
- Born
- August 19, 1967, Hyderabad, India
- Education
- Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet; bachelor’s in electrical engineering (1988; Manipal Institute of Technology per Wikipedia, Mangalore University per Microsoft); MS in computer science, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (1990); MBA, University of Chicago Booth School of Business (1997)
- Known for
- Leading Microsoft as CEO since February 4, 2014 and as chairman since June 2021; the book Hit Refresh (2017)
- Current role
- Chairman and CEO, Microsoft (as of October 2026)
- Career
- Sun Microsystems technology staff; joined Microsoft in 1992; Online Services Division R&D (2007–2011); president, Server & Tools (2011–2014); executive vice president, Cloud and Enterprise
- Honors
- Padma Bhushan (2022); Time 100 (2018, 2024); Financial Times Person of the Year (2019); American Academy of Arts and Sciences (elected 2025)
- Circulating IQ figure
- None
- Test record
- None published: no IQ, SAT, GRE or GMAT score
What an IQ of 135–150 actually means
Set the claim aside for a moment. If someone genuinely scored in this range, here is what that would represent.
| Score range | Classification | Share of people | What it indicates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 85 – 114 | Average | ~68% | The range most people fall into. |
| 115 – 129 | Above average | ~13.6% | Roughly one person in seven. |
| 130 – 144 | Gifted | ~2% | The threshold most high-IQ societies use. |
| Above 144 | Highly gifted | ~0.1% | Figures above this range are extrapolated from the curve rather than measured. |
Percentages are approximate and describe a normal distribution. The same number means different things on tests with different standard deviations.
Thirty questions gives you a measured position on this exact scale — your score, your percentile and the ability breakdown behind it.
Find out in 30 minutes →Who Satya Nadella is
How smart is Satya Nadella, judged only by what can be checked? He was born on August 19, 1967, in Hyderabad, India, according to Wikidata, and attended the Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet, per Wikipedia. A November 2017 Swarajya review of his book Hit Refresh quotes him saying “I flunked the IIT entrance exams” before he joined the Manipal Institute of Technology. Wikipedia gives his bachelor’s degree there as electrical engineering, 1988, while Microsoft’s own biography names Mangalore University for the same degree, and Wikidata lists both institutions among his schools. He then earned an MS in computer science at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (1990) and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business (1997). Whether such credentials track test scores is a separate question, taken up at whether IQ predicts school success.
Before Microsoft, Nadella was a member of the technology staff at Sun Microsystems; he joined Microsoft in 1992. Wikipedia dates his time as senior vice president of research and development for the Online Services Division from March 2007 to February 2011, and his presidency of the Server & Tools Division from February 9, 2011 to February 2014. Microsoft’s February 4, 2014 press release, “Microsoft Board names Satya Nadella as CEO,” describes him as executive vice president of the Cloud and Enterprise group and notes that Steve Ballmer had announced on August 23, 2013 that he would retire once a successor was named. Nadella became the third CEO in Microsoft’s history, after Bill Gates and Ballmer, and on June 16, 2021 Fortune reported that the company had named him board chairman, succeeding John Thompson.
As of October 2026, Microsoft’s July 29, 2026 earnings release, “Microsoft Cloud and AI Strength Fuels Fourth Quarter Results,” still quotes Satya Nadella as the company’s chairman and CEO. Microsoft’s market value rose from $381 billion in 2014, per Computerworld’s January 25, 2024 report, to above $4 trillion on July 30, 2025, per CNBC, an outcome shared with the company’s whole workforce rather than a measure of one person. In 2017 Nadella published Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft’s Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone with HarperBusiness, an imprint of HarperCollins; Wikipedia credits Greg Shaw and Jill Tracie Nichols as co-authors, and Microsoft India says the English edition launched on September 26, 2017, followed by Hindi (HarperCollins India), Tamil and Telugu (Westland Books) editions.
Wikipedia lists the Padma Bhushan (2022), Time 100 honoree (2018 and 2024), Financial Times Person of the Year (2019) and an honorary PhD from the Georgia Institute of Technology (January 2024). Business Today reported on October 21, 2022 that he received the Padma Bhushan from India’s consul general in San Francisco, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences lists his election in 2025. Whether that adds up to genius-level ability is a separate question from what a number would show. Satya Nadella’s estimated IQ here, 135–150, is inferred from that record and from nothing measured.
By Elora Mercer, Celebrity Research WriterFigures checked by Leon Falkner, Data & Research AnalystReviewed by Aarav Vardhan, Editor-in-Chief · Last reviewed October 2026
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Satya Nadella: the documented record
The estimate above rests on this record. Every entry here is a matter of public fact, which is more than can be said for the number itself.
- 1967Born August 19 in Hyderabad, India.
- 1988–1990Completes a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering (1988), then an MS in computer science at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (1990).
- 1992Joins Microsoft after serving on the technology staff of Sun Microsystems.
- 1997Receives an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
- 2007–2014Senior vice president of R&D for the Online Services Division (March 2007–February 2011), then president of the Server & Tools Division (February 9, 2011–February 2014).
- February 4, 2014Microsoft’s Board appoints him CEO, the third in the company’s history after Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer.
- September 26, 2017The English edition of Hit Refresh launches, published by HarperBusiness.
- June 16, 2021Named Microsoft’s chairman, succeeding John Thompson.
- 2022Receives the Padma Bhushan, presented in San Francisco by India’s consul general (reported October 21, 2022).
- 2025–2026Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2025; Microsoft’s July 29, 2026 earnings release describes him as chairman and CEO.
Why no figure circulates
Following a claim back to its first appearance is the part almost nobody does — and it is what most people are actually asking.
No IQ test result has been published for Satya Nadella, so a Satya Nadella IQ score can be estimated but not quoted. What stands in its place is a file of documented facts: a bachelor’s in electrical engineering (1988), an MS in computer science (1990) and a Booth MBA (1997), then a Microsoft career from 1992 to the chairman-and-CEO post. For how celebrity numbers usually take hold, and why this page declines to supply one, see where celebrity IQ numbers come from.
Satya Nadella’s estimated IQ, 135–150 on this site, matches the 135–150 given to Sundar Pichai, the comparison searchers type as “Satya Nadella IQ vs Sundar Pichai.” The two files share a pattern: India-born, an engineering bachelor’s, a US master’s degree, an MBA, the top job at a large technology company and a Padma Bhushan in 2022; Wikipedia lists Pichai’s B.Tech in metallurgical engineering from IIT Kharagpur (1993), an MS from Stanford and an MBA from Wharton. Nadella’s range overlaps Tim Cook’s 130–145 across 135–145 and sits below the 150–160 given to Bill Gates, whose range is built on an SAT-derived calculation that Nadella’s file has no counterpart for. The ranges for Nadella, Pichai and Cook all rest on degrees and career, not on a published test score.
A degree and a career are not an IQ test score. Rank-based admission exams, such as India’s JEE, sort applicants for a limited number of seats and are not IQ tests, as whether IQ matters for JEE explains. Business-school admission tests such as the GMAT report percentiles rather than IQs, as GMAT score to IQ sets out, and no such score has been published for Nadella. That is why this page gives a band centered near an IQ of 140 and not a point value, and why it declines to repeat a number nobody has sourced.
How we read a number →Wikipedia, Wikidata and Microsoft’s executive biography record Satya Nadella’s degrees, career and honors and cite no IQ, SAT, GRE or GMAT result.
Satya Nadella, “Indian-American business executive and CEO of Microsoft”: born August 19, 1967 in Hyderabad; educated at the Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Mangalore University, the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and the Booth School of Business; employer Microsoft from 1992 and Sun Microsystems; chief executive officer from February 4, 2014; awards include Padma Bhushan, Time 100 and Financial Times Person of the Year.
Title “Chairman and Chief Executive Officer”; bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Mangalore University, master’s in computer science from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, MBA from the University of Chicago; member of the technology staff at Sun Microsystems; joined Microsoft in 1992; led R&D for the Online Services Division and was vice president of the Microsoft Business Division. The Business Council PDF repeats the same degrees and career.
2014 release: the Board appointed Nadella CEO; he was previously executive vice president of the Cloud and Enterprise group; Ballmer announced on August 23, 2013 that he would retire once a successor was named. 2026 release: quotes Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s chairman and CEO.
Nadella: Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet; electrical engineering at Manipal Institute of Technology (1988); MS at Wisconsin–Milwaukee (1990); Booth MBA (1997); Sun Microsystems; Microsoft 1992; Online Services (March 2007–February 2011); Server & Tools (February 9, 2011–February 2014); CEO announced February 4, 2014; Time 100 (2018, 2024); Financial Times Person of the Year (2019); Georgia Tech honorary PhD (January 2024). Hit Refresh: HarperCollins, 2017, with Jill Tracie Nichols and Greg Shaw. Pichai: B.Tech IIT Kharagpur 1993; MS Stanford; MBA Wharton; Padma Bhushan 2022. No IQ test mentioned.
Microsoft named CEO Satya Nadella as board chairman; Nadella, 53, succeeds John Thompson, who returns to the role of lead independent director.
Computerworld: Nadella steered a stagnating Microsoft from a $381 billion valuation in 2014 to a $3 trillion valuation. CNBC: after strong earnings Microsoft’s market cap passed $4 trillion, joining Nvidia, which reached that level earlier in July 2025.
A review of Hit Refresh that reports Nadella joined the Manipal Institute of Technology after “I flunked the IIT entrance exams.”
Archive record: HarperBusiness, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2017, xi and 272 pages. Microsoft India: the English edition launched September 26, 2017; Hindi edition by HarperCollins India, Tamil and Telugu by Westland Books. Business Today: Nadella received the Padma Bhushan from India’s consul general T.V. Nagendra Prasad in San Francisco, described as India’s third-highest civilian award. Academy page (last updated August 2026): Satya Nadella, Microsoft Corporation, elected 2025.
The sources behind our estimate
The figures that circulate for Satya Nadella, what we were able to confirm, and where the two diverge.
No IQ figure for Satya Nadella is tied to a named test, a date or a source. The public record on him consists of degrees, jobs and honors.
No published IQ test result exists for Satya Nadella. Wikipedia, Wikidata and Microsoft’s own biography record his degrees, career and honors, and none cites a test.
With no figure to weigh against it, the only numbers on this page are the ends of this site’s own range, 135 and 150. It is a band because the record is strong on degrees and career outcomes and contains no measurement; it matches the band given to Sundar Pichai and sits under the 150–160 given to Bill Gates.
Want a number that does hold up? Every figure on this page is somebody’s claim. Take the 30-question test and get a percentile you can check rather than a figure you have to trust.
Satya Nadella — frequently asked
What is Satya Nadella’s IQ?
Satya Nadella’s IQ is unknown: no IQ test result has been published for him. This site’s estimate, 135–150, is inferred from his three degrees and his career at Microsoft, not from any test.
Did Satya Nadella take an IQ test?
No Satya Nadella IQ test result has been published. His biographies at Microsoft, Wikipedia and Wikidata record degrees, jobs and honors, never a test, and no SAT, GRE or GMAT score is public either, so no number here can be checked against a real measurement.
How smart is Satya Nadella, and is he a genius?
Nadella’s record shows real, checkable achievement: three degrees, a career inside Microsoft since 1992 and the CEO post since February 4, 2014. None of that is a measured score, so “genius” describes documented achievement here, not an IQ result. This site’s estimated IQ level for him is 135–150.
How does Satya Nadella’s estimated IQ compare with Sundar Pichai’s?
This site’s estimate for Nadella, 135–150, matches Sundar Pichai’s 135–150 and overlaps Tim Cook’s 130–145; it sits below Bill Gates’s 150–160. The ranges for Nadella, Pichai and Cook rest on degrees and career, not on a published test score, and Nadella and Pichai each received the Padma Bhushan in 2022.
What did Satya Nadella study?
Microsoft’s biography lists a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Mangalore University (Wikipedia says the Manipal Institute of Technology, 1988), an MS in computer science from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and an MBA from the University of Chicago, which Wikipedia dates to 1997.
Does Satya Nadella have a published SAT, GRE or GMAT score?
No. No SAT, GRE, GMAT or other admission-test score has been published for Satya Nadella, so there is no test result to convert into an IQ estimate. This page therefore rests on his degrees and career and gives its range as a band, not a point.
How did Satya Nadella become Microsoft’s CEO?
Steve Ballmer announced on August 23, 2013 that he would retire once a successor was named. Microsoft’s Board appointed Nadella, then executive vice president of the Cloud and Enterprise group, CEO on February 4, 2014, the third CEO in the company’s history after Bill Gates and Ballmer.
What is Satya Nadella’s job as of October 2026?
Microsoft’s July 29, 2026 earnings release describes Satya Nadella as the company’s chairman and CEO. He became CEO on February 4, 2014, and Fortune reported on June 16, 2021 that he was named chairman, succeeding John Thompson.
How does my IQ compare with Satya Nadella?
You can find out in about fifteen minutes. The IQ Metrics assessment is 30 questions, scored on the same 100-mean scale used throughout this page, so your result and the estimate above are at least expressed in the same units — one measured, one inferred. Once you have a number, the leaderboard shows where it would sit, and how we score and norm it explains the benchmarking.
Where does this estimate come from?
From the documented record rather than a test — the method is named above and set out in full under how we read a number. Compare it against the other business & tech profiles, starting with Steve Jobs.
- Take the 30-question IQ test — get a measured score and percentile of your own
- Average IQ by country — how the scale behaves across populations
- How IQ Metrics scores its assessment — the method behind our own number
- More on how IQ testing works — reliability, error and what a score can and cannot say
- More business & tech profiles — same field, same method
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Photograph by Lukasz Kobus (© European Union, 2023; source: European Commission Audiovisual Service, May 24, 2023), CC BY 4.0. Cropped from the original. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Dati Bendo / European Union (New York City, September 20, 2026), CC BY 4.0, cropped from a larger picture. Background removed for the portrait above. · Portrait by Christopher Smith, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — a work of the U.S. federal government, public domain. Background removed for the portrait above.
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