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However on the other side those $50 million imply that Tim Cook has a talent that only a very small number of people have. I am not so sure about that. There may be 10,000 skilled people in the world who could run the company as well as Tim Cook. He just happened to be in the right position at the right time.
There may be 10,000 people with the skill set to run a company as well as Apple but there are not 10,000 companies run as well as Apple. A lot of people here wrongly assert that Cook was handed the keys to a stellarly successful company and that he should be grateful for the opportunity for whatever penance they decide to pay him while somehow dismissing the reality that he is more responsible for Apple's success than Jobs himself. For example: Without Cook revamping how the company manufactured its products and managed inventory a failure like the G4 Cube could have derailed the company financially and made risk taking on other products like the iPod unlikely. These were hard-fought changes that, at the time, were very unpopular both inside and outside of Apple.
 
The same argument could be made for any contributor who helps keep a $2.5T running.

I single-handedly support systems at a multi-billion dollar company that would experience significant customer loss and value if those systems failed. Yet, unsurprisingly, I don't make anywhere near what the CEO does.

Maybe it is time to bring executive pay in line with those who deliver and sustain just as much value, just without the C-level title.
No, the same argument can’t be made.

Keeping something running, while important, isn’t anywhere near as difficult as building the 2.5T business. It’s a lot easier to find people to maintain something than it is to build a 2.5T business

Y’all overvaluing your easily replaceable contributions too much.
 
His private jet expenses have ballooned since the policy came into force. In Apple's just released 2020 filing for shareholders, Cook's travel expenses were $432,564, up from $315,311 in 2019.

Does Apple really think travelling commercially is dangerous? Those tiny private jets usually crash much more often than large commercial planes. Usually because the pilot often feels the pressure to take a higher risk in order to get his client to the destination. That problem killed many celebrities and even politicians.
When all you have is a hammer, everything is a nail. I can only see things from a bean counter POV.;) It ain't about keeping Tim safe. It's about the value of his time to Apple🧐 and tax deductions.🤫
 
There is a difference between acknowledging that Tim Cook is a genius who deserves be compensated handsomely for what he has done for Apple... and paying him $100 million, or even "just" $50 million as what's effectively a year's salary. Tim Cook's net worth is $1.8 billion now. There is no justification for it, no single human being needs this amount or could ever spend it either.

I love that guy, honestly I do, but you could take away 98% of his money and he'd still live comfortably in his 5 bedroom mansion, not having to worry about money like millions of Americans do every day.

It's a fact that this lifestyle is not sustainable. Got nothing to do with an iPhone costing a few cents more or less.
 
The U.S. GDP in 2022 was around $25 trillion and the U.S. President's salary was $400,000.

Apple's revenue in 2022 was around $388 billion or 1.6% of U.S. GDP and therefore Tim Cook's salary should be around $6,400. :D
Right, but in theory politicians are not in it for the salary. That's where the percs come in. And the prep for future work as a lobbyist. My first job didn't pay much either. ;)
 
There is a difference between acknowledging that Tim Cook is a genius who deserves be compensated handsomely for what he has done for Apple... and paying him $100 million, or even "just" $50 million as what's effectively a year's salary. Tim Cook's net worth is $1.8 billion now. There is no justification for it, no single human being needs this amount or could ever spend it either.

I love that guy, honestly I do, but you could take away 98% of his money and he'd still live comfortably in his 5 bedroom mansion, not having to worry about money like millions of Americans do every day.

It's a fact that this lifestyle is not sustainable. Got nothing to do with an iPhone costing a few cents more or less.

He's worth every single dollar of his salary.

Sure, you can find someone else that would take the job for a lot less money and benefits. But they wouldn't have the experience, knowledge, expertise, sales results, and business acumen Cook has.

And then Apple could join Microsoft, Meta/FB, google, Yahoo, Dell, Cisco, SAP, HP, Zoom, PayPal, Twitter, Dell, Salesforce, etc. in having massive layoffs of Apple's 164,000+ employees.

Apple, its employees, and customers are very lucky to have Cook as CEO.
 
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I love that guy, honestly I do, but you could take away 98% of his money and he'd still live comfortably in his 5 bedroom mansion, not having to worry about money like millions of Americans do every day.

It's a fact that this lifestyle is not sustainable. Got nothing to do with an iPhone costing a few cents more or less.
Thinking about it the wrong way.

The decision, by the (aggregate) owners of the company, of how much to pay him is NOT “could this guy live comfortably on this salary”.

The decision is “how much can we pay him to ensure he stays with us and performs to our expectation”.

Thats it. Thats all it is.

In your day job, is your pay a function of the size of your family, your personal assets and debt, and the level of your greed or thrift?

NO. Because your employer doesnt care about that. They pay you what they pay you because thats what your performance is worth.
 
Sure, you can find someone else that would take the job for a lot less money and benefits
Tim Cook initially took a risk accepting Steve Jobs' job offer and he says himself he isn't in it for the money - easy to say for him of course. Anyways: The root of the issue is that we have a system that has normalized paying a few individuals hundreds of millions of dollars even though that gravely hurts many of the people living within this system.

Thinking about it the wrong way.
In the end the reasons for the size of anyone's salary don't matter, what matters is that our wealth inequality is spiraling - now Tim Cook won't change that, and couldn't make a change on a personal level either. With that net worth you accumulate wealth faster than you can get rid of it if you tried (that too should indicate that there's a problem...).

Apple themselves too are our enemy with their union-busting behaviour. Exploiting your own employees is in no way required to run a successful business, yet Apple does it anyways. I can understand the frustration I've seen in this thread, no matter how well you do in life you can never be that high up the food chain as there is only so much planet earth to go around.
 
Maybe Apple executives can take less pay and make Apple products more affordable to the masses!!!
Hmmmm....If Tim's salary was evenly distributed to lower the cost of every iPhone sold this year, consumers would be saving practically nothing. Take the salaries of all the execs and you might be saving a dollar but I doubt it.
 


Apple CEO Tim Cook could receive close to $50 million in compensation if Apple meets all of its financial goals, shareholders decided today in an annual meeting that was highlighted by Bloomberg.

Apple-Logo-Cash-Feature-Mint.jpg

Cook is set to receive a $3 million base salary, a $6 million cash bonus, and stock awards that are worth approximately $40 million. Cook's salary is down around 40 percent, as he received $99 million in 2022. His pay will be tied closely to overall company performance, with the shift introduced after shareholders became upset about his pay package.

Shareholders approved a proposal that will see executive salary decided with an annual vote, and other Apple executives will earn around $27 million each in 2023. This includes chief operating officer Jeff Williams, general counsel Katherine Adams, retail head Deirdre O'Brien, services chief Eddy Cue, software head Craig Federighi, chief financial officer Luca Maestri, and others.

Several measures that Apple asked investors to reject did not receive enough votes to pass. Shareholders had proposed a civil rights audit on Apple's diversity efforts, called for Apple to report on its reliance on China on an annual basis, and asked Apple to report on pay gaps at the company.

All Apple board members were reelected, despite proposals calling for the removal of Al Gore and Tim Cook.

Article Link: Apple CEO Tim Cook Could Earn Nearly $50 Million in Compensation This Year
Yeah the greedy CEO, standing alone in making obscene pay while the worker bees struggle. Oh wait he isn’t even in the top 10 of compensation. Those above him crush his, he is in top 5 in company revenue
 
Tim Cook initially took a risk accepting Steve Jobs' job offer and he says himself he isn't in it for the money - easy to say for him of course. Anyways: The root of the issue is that we have a system that has normalized paying a few individuals hundreds of millions of dollars even though that gravely hurts many of the people living within this system.

If Apple paid him, say, $500,000/per year, and kept the difference in their bank account, how would those same "gravely hurt people" have a better outcome?

Cook gets paid a lot of money because he's absolutely worth it with his experience and business acumen. That Apple didn't need to engage in massive employee layoffs while still turning in excellent financial results along with keeping 164,000+ employees employed, and keeping millions of happy customers during a three year pandemic and economic downturn (while a lot of other large tech companies had massive layoffs) speaks volumes about Cook's worth to the company.

Cook's unique and worth every penny of his salary and benefits.

Apple employees and customers would not want to see him leave for a better offer.
 
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Does Apple really think travelling commercially is dangerous? Those tiny private jets usually crash much more often than large commercial planes. Usually because the pilot often feels the pressure to take a higher risk in order to get his client to the destination. That problem killed many celebrities and even politicians.

A major CEO traveling commercially is a huge security and financial risk.

Would you expect Tim Cook to fly first class on a Delta flight and use their in-flight Wi-Fi?

How about when he's flying to DC to testify in front of congress and there's a 4 hour flight delay? What about when he meets with the CEO of TSMC (or pick anyone). There is 'opportunity cost' for every hour of Tim Cook's day. He can't be late, or he's wasting tens-of-thousands-of-dollars of other peoples' time.

The logistics of a major CEO (and their direct reports) is a carefully orchestrated affair, with dozens of people involved. Minimizing risk, delays and other impacts is not a 'perk', it's literally a chance of corporate negligence if Apple's not taking steps to help the CEO maximize shareholder value.
 
Tim needs to be back in the SVP chair. Let someone with vision drive things and Tim will be there to make it happen. He'll be worth $50 million in that role. Leaving Apple largely stagnant for years doesn't warrant a reward.
 
Tim needs to be back in the SVP chair. Let someone with vision drive things and Tim will be there to make it happen. He'll be worth $50 million in that role. Leaving Apple largely stagnant for years doesn't warrant a reward.
I don’t not think apple agrees with this “opinion.” But to each their own and YMMV.
 
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Tim needs to be back in the SVP chair. Let someone with vision drive things and Tim will be there to make it happen. He'll be worth $50 million in that role. Leaving Apple largely stagnant for years doesn't warrant a reward.
Oh, I will say Tim Cook has a vision. Just because you don't happen to agree with it doesn't means that there isn't one.

Since it's the weekend, I would also recommend reading (or re-reading a couple of Neil Cybart's articles on Apple).


Here are a few of my favourites.





Enjoy. :)
 
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His contract likely is not public, but there were many articles about the company policy forcing him to use a private jet:

Since 2017, Cook has been forced by company policy to use only private jets for business and personal travel. Apple said it was for security and efficiency reasons. Back then his travel expenses were $93,109 while security expenses totaled $224,216, according to Apple's 2017 SEC regulatory filings.

His private jet expenses have ballooned since the policy came into force. In Apple's just released 2020 filing for shareholders, Cook's travel expenses were $432,564, up from $315,311 in 2019.


Does Apple really think travelling commercially is dangerous? Those tiny private jets usually crash much more often than large commercial planes. Usually because the pilot often feels the pressure to take a higher risk in order to get his client to the destination. That problem killed many celebrities and even politicians.
Using private jet is more about scheduling, aka flying at your own schedule. Somebody like Tim Cook probably has super tight schedule, and every minute he’s waiting for delayed flights of commercial airlines, money is lost by Apple. Apple cannot afford him waiting and being delayed.
 
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