Apple CEO Tim Cook to cut 40% of his pay
Apple announced that CEO Tim Cook‘s annual compensation will be lowered by more than 40 percent in this year. The billionaire had called for a pay cut and analysts had argued that his considerable compensation did not make sense for investors. His compensation target for 2023, as said by the company, is $49 million, down from the $99.4 million he earned in 2022.
The cut comes from an adjustment in Cook’s stock award, although he will receive a bonus of 6 million on top of a base salary of 3 million, which has remained the same since 2016.
“Taking into consideration Apple’s size, goal, and comparative performance, the Compensation Committee also intends to position Mr. Cook’s annual compensation target between the 80 and 90 percentile relative to our largest peer group for future years,” Apple said in a document.
Forbes estimates that Cook has a net worth of $1.7 billion. He has pledged to donate most of his wealth to philanthropic causes.
Background
Cook has been serving as Apple’s CEO since 2011, after co-founder Steve Jobs stepped down. The company has grown significantly since then and its market capitalization exceeded $3 trillion a year ago, but Apple’s stock price fell 27 percent during 2022, which was a difficult year for technology stocks in general.
