Apple CEO Agrees to More Than 40% Pay Cut

Apple CEO Tim Cook is to take on a pay cut in 2023 worth more than 40% of his total compensation in 2022 after shareholders pushed back on an earlier pay packet plan, AP reports(Opens in a new window). 

The new pay package means Cook is set to make $49 million this year, with a $3 million salary, $6 million cash bonus and is targeted to make $40 million in equity awards. About $30 million, or 75%, of Cook’s equity award target is dependent on share price performance, CNN reports. The base salary of $3 million and the $6 million bonus is unchanged from previous years.

The pay cut marks a sharp reduction in Cook’s total Apple income, which has ballooned in the past three years. In 2020 Cook took home $14.8 million, before earning $98.7 million in 2021 and $99.4 million in 2022. 

In its annual proxy statement(Opens in a new window) released Thursday, the company said Cook had recommended Apple to “adjust his compensation in light of the feedback received” from shareholders. 

Apple stated that its compensation committee took into account shareholder feedback and the company’s performance. The committee said that Cook’s agreed pay package is “responsive to shareholder feedback, while continuing both to align pay with performance and to recognize Mr. Cook’s outstanding leadership.”

In the statement, Apple said that shareholders had pushed back on a previous proposal last year and had “consistently cited the size and structure of the 2021 and 2022 equity awards granted to Mr.Cook as the primary reason for their voting decision.”

According to Forbes(Opens in a new window), the Apple CEO is estimated to have a net worth of $1.7 billion. He has headed Apple since 2011. 

Last year, Apple stock plummeted nearly 27%(Opens in a new window) amid the impact of COVID lockdowns in China, where its biggest production facility is housed.