But let's go back three years to Elop's move from his position as president of the Microsoft Business Division to Nokia.  After two years in that job he got $12 million in total compensation (although the poor soul had to return $667,000 of his signing bonus because he didn't stay three years). But he also cleaned up with an agreement that Microsoft would buy his house for the difference between its purchase price and appraised value at a time when real estate values had plummeted. He had also received $4.15 million in relocation expenses in 2009 with a required tax gross up of $1.4 million. After that fiasco, Microsoft changed its policy. This time, Nokia reportedly amended his contract without disclosing why in the proxy for an extraordinary shareholder meeting, but apparently Microsoft wants to keep Elop, seen as a potential successor to Steve Ballmer. Microsoft agreed to cover 70 percent of Elop's payout. Microsoft had also been among vendors named in a non-compete clause, according to reports in the business press that has been following this.