Tim Cook salary to drop 40%, at his request

Apple CEO Tim Cook is expected to earn $49 million in 2023, far below his 2022 earnings of $99.4 million, following his recommendation that Apple responded to shareholder feedback.

The news comes from Apple's latest filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Apple is required to file with the SEC, and also has to apply to it over certain shareholder issues.

Now having run a Say on Pay advisory with "broader shareholder engagement on executive compensation in 2022," Apple's Compensation Committee has announced changes to salaries and other earnings.

"The Compensation Committee balanced shareholder feedback, Apple's exceptional performance, and a recommendation from Mr. Cook to adjust his compensation in light of the feedback received," continues the filing.

"The Compensation Committee then approved the target annual compensation of our named executive officers for 2023," it says, "including the following changes to CEO compensation, which Mr. Cook supported, and that the Compensation Committee believes are responsive to shareholder feedback, while continuing both to align pay with performance and to recognize Mr. Cook's outstanding leadership."

Cook's income is divided between a salary per se, then performance-based sums. The Compensation Committee has adjusted the proportions of his income that derive from each source.

"[Overall] Mr. Cook's 2023 target total compensation is $49 million, a reduction of over 40% from his 2022 target total compensation," says the SEC filing.

Apple's SEC filing also includes a note to shareholders from Cook, formally inviting them to the company's annual shareholder meeting. He doesn't address the issue of pay, but he does speak of the need to not cut back on investment overall.

"The global challenges with us all today - from inflation, to war in Eastern Europe, to the enduring impacts of the pandemic - make this a time for deliberate and thoughtful action," he wrote. "But it is not a time to retreat from the future."

"We've always run Apple for the long-term," continued Cook, "and that means continuing to invest in innovation, in people, and in the positive difference we can make in the world."

Apple's SEC filing once more includes a note about how they "provide for pro-rata instead of full vesting in the event of retirement during the term of the award.". In 2021, Cook said that he is likely to leave Apple in the next ten years.

Latest Exclusives

Latest comparisons

17 Comments

amar99 180 comments · 14 Years

About 1 year ago

How will he survive on such a low salary? What a guy.

zimmie 651 comments · 9 Years

DT36MT said:

amar99 said:

How will he survive on such a low salary? What a guy.

Will you do it if you were in his place just because someone or some group of people say you should?

If I were in such a position, I would have my salary lowered without somebody else pushing for it because I can't imagine ever needing more than about $100M in assets. That level of wealth is self-sustaining for even an unreasonably extravagant lifestyle. It's enough for separate his and hers Ferraris for every day of the month with plenty left over to still get about two million dollars of income per year on bank interest. What would you ever spend it on?

Xed 2877 comments · 4 Years

amar99 said:

How will he survive on such a low salary? What a guy.

Actually, he is, but you clearly aren't because you see a story about a CEO suggesting to lower his own salary because the stock is underperforming (which is no fault of his, but purely due to larger issues) and decide to make a snarky comment about him not being able to support himself.

paxman 4729 comments · 17 Years

Apparently the call for lower wages was based on the allegation that he earns more than 1400 x more than the lowest paid Apple worker. If so that is kinda crazy in any environment. Perhaps there should be legislation that regulates not the highest or lowest wage within an organization, but instead the allowable disparity. It would likely mean that bottom wages would increase and top wages go down but still grades and hierarchy could be observed.

Marvin 15336 comments · 18 Years

paxman said:

Apparently the call for lower wages was based on the allegation that he earns more than 1400 x more than the lowest paid Apple worker. If so that is kinda crazy in any environment. Perhaps there should be legislation that regulates not the highest or lowest wage within an organization, but instead the allowable disparity. It would likely mean that bottom wages would increase and top wages go down but still grades and hierarchy could be observed.

Tim Cook's salary is much less than the billionaire investors are making from Apple. Warren Buffet made over $100b.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/04/warren-buffett-makes-over-120-billion-on-apples-trot-to-3-trillion-among-his-best-bets-ever.html

$36b invested in 2018, more than 3x return. This nonagenarian doesn't put in a minute's work at Apple but makes over 1,500,000 times Apple's median salary.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/apples-tim-cook-paid-over-124709881.html

When talking about fairness in earnings, the billionaire ownership class needs to be part of the discussion. They are the ones depriving the workers of earnings, not Tim Cook. Unpaid wages go to the company owners and so will Tim Cook's reduction in salary. Tim Cook has earned his salary, the billionaire owners haven't contributed anything to Apple's success.

There needs to be an employment law that requires employees get allocated a minimum portion of company profits when company profits far exceed their payroll.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/cameronkeng/2014/12/18/if-apple-was-a-worker-cooperative-each-employee-would-earn-at-least-403k

$68k median salary over 100k employees = $6.8b. Apple has made over $90b profit the last 2 years:

https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/AAPL/apple/net-income

doubling the median salary (or rather bonus allocation, not permanent) of the workers would cost less than 10% of their profits and that's what the law should be - employees deserve at least 10% of a company's excessive profits. They're the ones who made the profit after all.