Steve Jobs, the legendary CEO of Apple, was thought to be irreplaceable.
But 10 years after succeeding Jobs, Tim Cook has brought the tech Goliath to new heights. During Cook’s tenure as Apple’s chief executive, “the company’s revenue has more than doubled and its shares returned more than 1,100%, pushing the market value above $2 trillion,” according to Bloomberg.
Now, Cook is set to reap the rewards.
As part of a compensation package tied to the performance of Apple’s stock, Cook will receive five million shares in the company worth approximately $750 million, according to Bloomberg’s calculations.
Cook is already one of America’s wealthiest citizens, with a net worth estimated at $1.5 billion. He’s pledged to donate much of his fortune to charity.
Before being elevated to Apple’s top spot, Cook was in charge of the iPhone maker’s operations. He oversaw the manufacturing and distribution of Apple’s core products.
In 2014, he became the first CEO of a Fortune 500 company to publicly reveal he was gay.
A 2020 study revealed that America’s CEOs earn 320 times as much as a typical worker.
In 2019, China Labor Watch, a New York City-based watchdog, issued a report claiming Foxconn, one of Apple’s Chinese manufacturing partners, was exploiting factory workers.
Workers earn a base wage of 2,100 yuan ($295), which is “insufficient to sustain the livelihood for a family living in Zhengzhou city,” according to the CLW report.
Apple denied the allegations and asserted “all workers are being compensated appropriately, including any overtime wages and bonuses, all overtime work was voluntary and there was no evidence of forced labor.”
