Apple Gives Tim Cook $38 Million to Stay CEO Through 2025

Apple’s chief executive and newly-minted billionaire Tim Cook just got richer, as the company offered Cook roughly $40 million in stock options to continue his duties as CEO through 2025. Apple reported in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Sept. 29 that it awarded Cook 333,987 in stock options, which totals roughly $38 million based on Apple’s current stock price. The shares will begin vesting in 2023 and are tied to Cook meeting certain (undisclosed) performance goals at Apple. Another 33,987 shares will be granted to Cook and begin to automatically vest in three years, regardless of performance goals. Last year Cook took home $125 million, including a $3 million salary plus stock bonuses. “Tim has brought unparalleled innovation and focus to his role as CEO and demonstrated what it means to lead with values and integrity,” Apple’s board of directors said in a statement to CNBC this morning. “For the first time in nearly a decade, we are awarding Tim a new stock grant that will vest over time in recognition of his outstanding leadership and with great optimism for Apple’s future as he carries these efforts forward.” Contrary to many other tech leaders who regularly receive and exercise stock bonuses, Cook hasn’t received a stock bump from Apple since 2011. Cook recently achieved billionaire status in August of this year, and the majority of his wealth comes from his Apple salary and previous stock sell-offs, which netted him about $1 billion. Cook also advises other start-ups and businesses, which often come with stock bonuses — Business Insider reported in April that Cook has roughly $3.4 million in stock options from Nike, whose board he joined in 2005.