"This is a painful decision for me to make after five years at HP," said former HP CEO Mark Hurd, resigning his position Friday as the CEO of one of the largest technology companies on the planet. "But I believe it would be difficult for me to continue as an effective leader at HP and I believe this is the only decision the board and I could make at this time."

Hurd might be out as HP's top leader, but he's leaving with a financial bang. The abrupt departure of one of Silicon Valley's more well-known figureheads—successfully rebutting allegations of sexual harassment with a female contractor before being accused of submitting inaccurate expense reports related to the relationship—comes as an unexpected shock to tech pundits, HP employees, and shareholders alike.

However, it's not as if HP's insistence on Hurd's resignation is akin to throwing the former CEO to the wolves. According to The New York Times, Hurd himself offered to pay HP back for the total amount allegedly falsified on Hurd's expense reports. Though the amount ranged from $1,000 to $20,000--not even one percent of Hurd's $30 million salary-plus-bonuses earned in fiscal year 2009--HP's board of directors didn't bite.

That said, he'll be leaving the company—after CFO Cathie Lesjak takes her place as interim CEO—with a $12.2 million severance payment as detailed by a Friday SEC filing. His total takeaway is expected to go higher, however, as he's allowed to purchase up to 775,000 shares of HP common stock that vested as of his Friday departure.

Including these, his severance payment, and the settlement of his 330,177 units of performance-based restricted stock and 15,853 units of time-based restricted stock, a new report from Bloomberg puts his total financial takeaway anywhere from $40 to $50 million dollars. As well, HP will pay Hurd for medical and dental coverage for up to 18 months from his resignation date.

According to SEC filings, Hurd has made more than $125 million from HP since joining the company in 2005. He's also made quite a bit of money for HP: the share price of the company has jumped from $21.71 on April 1, 2005—Hurd's first day as HP CEO--to $41.85 at the close of business (and his tenure) Friday.

Former HP CEO Carly Fiorina, now in the running for one of California's Senate seats, received a severance package worth around $21.4 million when HP asked her to step down as CEO in February of 2005. According to HP, Fiorina clashed with HP's board over how to best carry out the company's overall strategy.