Apple is cutting its?CEO Tim Cook¡¯s compensation by?50% to $49 million in 2023, citing investor guidance and a request from Cook himself to adjust his pay.??
As part of the changes, the percentage of stock units awarded to Cook and tied to Apple¡¯s performance will increase to 75% in 2023 from 50%, as well as in future years, the company said in a regulatory filing on Thursday.?
For 2022, CEO Cook had received compensation of $99.4 million, including $3 million in base salary, about $83 million in stock awards, and a bonus.?That was up slightly from 2021, when his total pay package was $98.7 million, as per the Bloomberg report.
Apple reportedly said in the filing that Cook's latest pay was based on "balanced shareholder feedback, Apple¡¯s exceptional performance, and a recommendation from Cook."
The tech giant also plans to "position Cook¡¯s annual target compensation between the 80th and 90th percentiles relative to our primary peer group for future years," it said.
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Apple has drawn criticism from groups such as top advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) about Tim Cook¡¯s previous compensation package, but a majority of shareholders voted to approve it last year.
ISS had complained that Cook¡¯s stock would continue to vest post-retirement and that half of the rewards didn¡¯t depend on performance criteria like the company¡¯s share price.
This year's $49 million in target compensation includes the same $3 million salary and $6 million bonus as in 2022, as well as an equity award value of $40 million, as per the Bloomberg report.
His equity award value in 2022 was $75 million. Cook¡¯s actual total compensation for 2023 could fluctuate based on the company¡¯s stock performance.
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Just like many other billionaires such as Warren Buffett, Bill Gates,?and Jeff Bezos, 62-year-old Tim Cook has already pledged to give away all his wealth to charitable causes. He had pledged to do so in 2015, and his current net worth as per Forbes, is $1.7 billion.
But overall, it¡¯s rare for CEOs to recommend that their own compensation be reduced. Pay packages have gotten increasingly lavish, and 2021 was a record year for executive compensation, according to Bloomberg data.
Apple?had also disclosed 2022 compensation for Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri, General Counsel Kate Adams, Retail Chief Deirdre O'Brien, and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams. Those executives were all paid about $27 million, including salary, stock, and a bonus, in 2022, slight increases from the previous year.
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