Apple CEO Tim Cook is reportedly set to rake in $750 million this week in the final installment of the pay deal he signed a decade ago when he succeeded Steve Jobs.
Cook will be given 5 million Apple shares worth about $750 million, Bloomberg reported Thursday. The reward will provide a significant boost to the CEO’s current net worth of $1.5 billion, according to the outlet.
Part of Cook’s cash-in was reportedly based on Apple stock having outperformed at least two-thirds of companies in the S&P 500 index over the past three years.
Apple did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Sixty-year-old Cook first took over from Steve Jobs in 2011, signing a monster pay deal that included generous stock payouts year after year, according to Bloomberg. In 2020, Cook made a $14.8 million salary and had $281 million worth of stock options that vested, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Apple’s annual revenue has more than doubled during Cook’s tenure — and in December the company became the first US firm in history to reach a market capitalization of $2 trillion.
But Cook, who was born in Alabama and was the first Fortune 500 CEO to come out as gay, also faces a series of challenges ahead.
He has to lead Apple through antitrust pressure on several fronts in the US and Europe — including over lucrative app store fees that led to an ongoing high-profile lawsuit from Fortnite developer Epic Games. App store commissions represent a key source of revenue for the company, bringing in $22 billion for the company in 2020.
Many Apple workers are also rebelling over the company’s push to bring corporate employees back into the office at least three days per week, while another employee group recently accused company leadership of systemic discrimination based on race and gender.
