Tim Cook: Apple CEO is Taking a 40% Pay Cut This Year

A US$35 million pay cut

In 2021, the Apple CEO made US$ 99 million (AU$ 142.4 million), US $83 million (AU$ 119.3 million) in stock, US$ 12 million (AU$ 17.3 million) in incentives, and US$ 3 million (AU$ 4.3 million) in base salary.

Cook also got benefits like personal air travel, security, obligatory retirement plan contributions, and a massive US$ 46,000 (AU$ 66,150) in vacation cash-out.

 

His whopping pay didn’t go unnoticed by Apple stakeholders and media. Top advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services urged investors last year to vote against the massive pay package. It led to the collective expressing their “preference for a higher percentage of Cook’s equity award to be performance-based” in 2023.

 

Apple’s Compensation Committee wrote, “Based on these important conversations, we have made changes to the size and structure of Tim’s 2023 compensation.” The committee comprises AI Gore, Art Levinson, and Andrea Jung.

The committee also stated, “Taking into consideration Apple’s comparative size, scope, and performance, the Compensation Committee also intends to position Mr. Cook’s annual target compensation between the 80th and 90th percentiles relative to our primary peer group for future years.”

 

More changes to Cook’s pay cut might also come in the future. As of now, he is earning US $49 million (AU$ 70.5 million) annually. Also, 75% of his vesting shares are tied to Apple’s stock performance. His leadership helped Apple become the first company to have a stock market valuation of $3 trillion. It has fallen to $ 2.1 trillion due to several factors like China lockdowns, global economic slowdown, supply chain delays, and much more.

 

Even after all that, Apple is doing good as the stock (NASDAQ: AAPL) has returned +1,212% since 2011. That’s when Cook became the CEO. The 62-year-old also has a massive personal wealth of 1.7 billion. He has also pledged to give away his entire fortune during his lifetime.

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