tim-cook-salary

Tim Cook Salary

Business / By / August 15, 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.

Key Highlights

  • Tim Cook’s Compensation Structure:
    • Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, has had a base salary of $3 million since 2016.
    • His total compensation is mainly performance-based, including stock awards and incentives.
    • In 2022, his total compensation was over $99 million, with a base salary of $3 million.
    • Most CEO compensation in public companies is tied to stock performance.
  • Tim Cook’s Net Worth:
    • Tim Cook’s primary source of wealth is his Apple stocks.
    • As of 2023, he owned approximately 3.28 million Apple shares worth around $480 million.
    • Over the years, he has sold portions of his Apple stocks, making him a billionaire.
  • Microsoft CEO Compensation:
    • Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, had a base salary of $2.5 million between 2020 and 2022.
    • The majority of CEO compensation is performance-based, beyond the base salary.
    • In 2022, only 4% of Nadella’s total compensation was base salary.
  • Satya Nadella’s Net Worth:
    • Nadella’s net worth primarily comes from Microsoft stock holdings.
    • He owned around 763,518 Microsoft shares valued at $190 million in 2022.
    • His total compensation in 2022 included stock awards and non-stock incentives, with a significant portion tied to performance-based metrics.
    • Over the years, Nadella has sold substantial amounts of Microsoft stock, making him a centi-millionaire.
  • Google CEO Compensation:
    • Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, had a base salary of $2 million in 2022.
    • Like other CEOs, a significant portion of his compensation is performance-based, including stock awards and bonuses.
  • Sundar Pichai’s Net Worth:
    • Sundar Pichai’s net worth is largely based on his Google stock holdings.
    • Between 2019 and 2022, he received compensation totaling $294 million, including base salary, stock awards, and bonuses.
    • Pichai’s net worth is estimated to be more than $500 million due to stock sales and market value appreciation.

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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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