tim-cook-salary

Tim Cook Salary

Business / By / February 28, 2023

While Apple Tim Cook’s salary has been $3 million since 2016, most of Tim Cook’s compensation is performance-based. For instance, in 2022, while the salary of Tim Cook was $3 million, he had total compensation of over $99 million, which comprised stock awards and other incentives and bonuses.

tim-cook-pay-mix

Indeed, most of the compensation is performance-based when it comes to CEOs of public, listed companies.

And it’s usually tied to the performance of the stock compared to the main stock index (and a few other benchmarks the company can set, such as the performance of the stock compared to identified comparable companies.

That’s how, with a base salary of $3 million, Tim Cook is nonetheless worth hundred of millions of dollars.

tim-cook-net-worth
Tim Cook’s net worth is primarily comprised of his Apple stocks. As of 2023, he owned 3,279,898 worth about $480 million at the current rate. However, Tim Cook has sold part of his Apple stocks over the years for hundreds of millions of dollars, making him a billionaire.

The same compensation structure is followed by other large tech companies.

For instance, Microsoft’s CEO salary has been $2.5 million between 2020-2022.

microsoft-ceo-salary
In 2022, that was $2.5 million. Microsoft’s CEO base salary varied over the years, increasing from $1.5 million in 2018 to $2.5 million in 2022. However, it’s essential to notice that most of the CEO’s compensation is performance-based and goes beyond the base salary. For instance, in 2022, of the total compensation for Satya Nadella, the current CEO of Microsoft, only 4% was base salary.

While Google’s CEO base salary was $2 million in 2020-21.

google-ceo-base-salary
Google’s CEO base salary is $2 million per year. In addition to the base salary, the CEO of the company also earns stock awards and other compensations that go well beyond its base salary.

However, if we look at performance-based compensation, Satya Nadella made most of his income in 2022 (96%) from performance-based compensation, whereas base compensation only represented 4% of the total earnings.

satya-nadella-net-worth
As of 2022, Satya Nadella had 763,518, valued at $190 million at Microsoft’s current market value. Nadella also got a $2.5 million base salary in 2022, plus $42.27 million in stock awards and over $10 million in non-stock incentives. Nadella sold hundreds of millions of dollars of Microsoft stocks in the last ten years, making him a centi-millionaire. In 2022, 96% of Nadella’s salary was performance-based, whereas only 4% comprised a base salary.
ceo-pay-mix

The same goes for Sundar Pichai, which between 2019-2021, made over $294 in performance-based compensations.

Of course, those can be vested at specific performance metrics, over the years.

sundar-pichai-net-worth
Sundar Pichai might be worth more than 500 million dollars. Indeed, the CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai, perceived a base salary of 2 million dollars in 2022. In addition, between 2019-2022 alone, he perceived a total compensation (comprising base salary, stock awards, and other bonuses) of $294 million, making him worth more than 300 million dollars at current market value. Over the years, Pichai has sold part of his stocks, making his net worth pass 500 million dollars.

Related to Apple

Apple Business Model

apple-business-model
Apple has a business model that is divided into products and services. Apple generated over $394 billion in revenues in 2022, of which $205.5 came from iPhone sales, $40 billion came from Mac sales, over $41 billion came from accessories and wearables (AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, HomePod, iPod touch, and accessories), $29.3 billion came from iPad sales, and $78.13 billion came from services.

Apple Value Propositon

apple-value-proposition
Apple is a tech giant, and as such, it encompasses a set of value propositions that make Apple’s brand recognized among consumers. Apple’s brand’s three fundamental value propositions leverage the “Think Different” motto; reliable tech devices for mass markets. Starting in 2019, Apple also emphasized more privacy to differentiate itself from other tech giants.

Economics of the iPhone

how-much-profit-does-apple-make-per-iphone
It costs Apple $501 to make an iPhone 14 Pro Max, and the company sells it at a base price of $1099. This makes Apple’s base markup on the latest iPhone model at 119% Apple is the only tech company able to sell its tech products at a such a premium, thanks to a combination of hardware, software and marketplace.

Apple Business Growth

apple-business-growth
It costs Apple $501 to make an iPhone 14 Pro Max, and the company sells it at a base price of $1099. This makes Apple’s base markup on the latest iPhone model at 119% Apple is the only tech company able to sell its tech products at such a premium, thanks to a combination of hardware, software, and marketplace.

Apple Distribution Strategy

apple-distribution-strategy
In 2022, most of Apple’s sales (62%) came from indirect channels (comprising third-party cellular networks, wholesalers/retailers, and resellers). These channels are critical for sales amplification, scale, and subsidies (to enable the iPhone to be purchased by many people). In comparison, the direct channel represented 38% of the total revenues. Stores are critical for customer experience, enabling the service business, and branding at scale.

Apple PESTEL Analysis

apple-pestel-analysis

Apple Organizational Structure

apple-organizational-structure
Apple has a traditional hierarchical structure with product-based grouping and some collaboration between divisions.

Apple SWOT Analysis

apple-swot-analysis
Apple can leverage a strong consumer brand and set of successful products as a strength. Yet the company is still too reliant on the iPhone as a primary revenue stream. Though Apple is working to open up new markets as an opportunity, it has to make sure to sustain its stores’ sales.

Market Expansion Theory

apple-market-expansion

How do Apps Make Money

how-do-apps-make-money
Apps in the Apple Store follow five primary business model patterns: the free model, where the app might make money via paid ads. Freemium model where the app charges for premium features; subscription-based model, paid model, and paymium model is a mix of paid and freemium.

Apple Business Strategy

apple-business-strategy
When looking at the Apple Business Model, it is easy to assume that it is solely a product company which sells devices that are beautifully crafted. However, there would have been no success for the Mac without its OS operating system. There would not have been iPod success without iTunes. And no success for iPhones without the Apple Store. What’s next for Apple’s success?

Related Personal Wealth Case Studies

Warren Buffet

warren-buffett-companies
Warren Buffett is an American investor, business tycoon, and philanthropist. Known as the “Oracle of Omaha”, Buffett is best known for his strict adherence to value investing and frugality despite his immense wealth. He is among the wealthiest people in the world. Most of his wealth is tied up in Berkshire-Hathaway and its 65 subsidiaries.

Jeff Bezos

jeff-bezos-companies
Jeff Bezos was best known for founding eCommerce giant Amazon in 1994. However, the entrepreneur owns companies in several industries, including health care, retail, robotics, real estate, and media. Many of these companies have been acquired by Amazon over the years, but some have been the result of direct investment from Bezos himself (through his investment arm is called Bezos Expeditions).

Elon Musk

how-does-elon-musk-make-money
Elon Musk is one of the richest people in the world, with his main ownership in Tesla, making him worth more than a hundred billion dollars. The companies founded by Elon Musk range from electric vehicles and renewable energies, with Tesla, rockets, with SpaceX, infrastructure with The Boring Company, and neurotechnology with Neuralink.

Bill Gates

bill-gates-companies
Bill Gates is an American business tycoon, software developer, investor, and more recently, philanthropist. After dropping out of Harvard University and founding Microsoft in 1975, Gates has at times been the richest man in the world with an estimated net worth of $129 billion. He founded Cascade Investment in 1995 to manage his investments outside of Microsoft. The firm employs over 100 people and has significant stakes in hotel, rail transport, beverage, and waste management companies. To further his philanthropic causes, he founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000. The foundation holds almost $47 billion in assets and tackles entrenched global issues around poverty, healthcare, and climate change. The foundation also has several trust investments in companies such as Berkshire Hathaway, Caterpillar, FedEx, Walmart, and UPS.

Mark Zuckerberg

who-owns-facebook
Mark Zuckerberg is the largest shareholder of the company. Zuckerberg retains ownership and control of the company. Like Google, Facebook has issued two common stocks, Class A and Class B. The holders of Class B common stocks are entitled to ten votes per share, and holders of our Class A common stocks are entitled to one vote per share. Mark Zuckerberg has a voting power of 56.9%; he’s the main decision-maker.

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About The Author

Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
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