Apple CEO Tim Cook moved into the billionaire club

Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook has joined the billionaire club as the company’s share price continues to increase. Apple’s market value has been on the rise following strong results and the upbeat outlook for tech giants.

Mr Cook owns 847,969 shares directly and took home over $125m (£96m) in 2019 as part of his pay package.

Last week, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg saw his personal wealth hit $100bn (£76bn).

Technology companies including Apple, Facebook and Amazon have seen their profits rise during the COVID-19 pandemic as more people went online.

Silicon-Valley based Apple is now closing in on the milestone of being the first company to be valued at $2tn. In 2018, it become the first company to be valued at $1tn.

Mr Cook took over from Apple founder Steve Jobs in 2011. His billionaire status is based on the shares owned by him and the compensation he has been paid at Apple, and calculated by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

In 2015, he said he planned to give most of his fortune away and has already donated million of dollars worth of Apple shares.

Facebook’s Zuckerberg has made a same pledge to give away the majority of his shares.

Tim Cook

Mr Zuckerberg, along with Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Tesla’s Elon Musk, accrued their wealth from the huge stakes in the companies they founded.

In comparison, Mr Cook’s stake in Apple is miniscule at around 0.02%.

Based on US federal and state taxes for California, Mr Cook would face a tax rate of just over 50%, as a top-bracket earner.

This article has been posted by a News Hour Correspondent. For queries, please contact through [email protected]
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