Apple CEO Tim Cook Earned Over 1,400 Times the Company’s Average Worker in 2021

The iPhone maker has benefited from strong demand over the past two years as consumers working from home splurged on upgrades.

Advertisement
By Reuters | Updated: 8 January 2022 12:58 IST
Highlights
  • Median pay for Apple employees was $68,254 (roughly Rs. 50.66 lakh)
  • Cook’s base salary remained at $3 million (roughly Rs. 22.26 crore)
  • In total, Cook earned $98.7 million (roughly Rs. 732.65 crores) in 2020

Tim Cook received $82.3 million (roughly Rs. 610.92 crore) in stock awards

Apple boss Tim Cook's pay in 2021 was 1,447 times that of the average employee at the tech giant, a filing on Thursday showed, fueled by stock awards that helped him earn a total of nearly $100 million (roughly Rs. 742.31 crore).

In 2021, the median pay for employees was $68,254 (roughly Rs. 50.66 lakh), Apple said, adding it had selected a new median employee for comparison due to changes in hiring and compensation.

Advertisement

The median pay in 2020 was $57,783 (roughly Rs. 42.89 lakh) and the pay ratio was 256 times Cook's salary.

The iPhone maker has benefited from strong demand over the past two years as consumers working from home splurged on upgrades. Apple's revenue rose more than 30 percent to $365.82 billion (roughly Rs. 27,15,521 crore) for its fiscal 2021 and its shares briefly crossed $3 trillion (roughly Rs. 2,22,69,270 crore) in market capitalization this year.

Advertisement

Cook, whose salary remained at $3 million (roughly Rs. 22.26 crore), received $82.3 million (roughly Rs. 610.92 crore) in stock awards, $12 million (roughly Rs. 89.07 crores) for hitting Apple's targets and $1.4 million (roughly Rs. 10.39 crore) for air travel, 401(k) plan, insurance premiums and others.

In total, he earned $98.7 million (roughly Rs. 732.65 crores), compared with $14.8 million (roughly Rs. 109.86 crores) in 2020.

Advertisement

Cook took the helm in August 2011 after the company's co-founder Steve Jobs stepped down months before his demise. The stock has surged over 1,000 percent since Cook took charge.

In September, Cook received 333,987 restricted stock units, in his first stock grant since 2011 as part of a long-term equity plan. He will be eligible to receive additional units in 2023.

Advertisement

Cook told Fortune magazine in 2015 that he plans to donate his wealth to charity.

CEOs in the United States were paid 351 times more than the typical worker in 2020, a report by the Economic Policy Institute showed, while the compensation of top CEOs grew roughly 60 faster than the stock market from 1978 to 2020, eclipsing the slow 18 percent growth in a typical worker's annual pay.

© Thomson Reuters 2021


What's most interesting about Apple's new MacBook Pros, M1 Pro and M1 Max silicon, AirPods (3rd Generation), and Apple Music Voice plan? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
 

Get your daily dose of tech news, reviews, and insights, in under 80 characters on Gadgets 360 Turbo. Connect with fellow tech lovers on our Forum. Follow us on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News for instant updates. Catch all the action on our YouTube channel.

Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Redmi Note 15 SE 5G to Launch With a Larger Battery Than Note 15 5G
  2. iQOO 15 Apex Edition Arrives in India as a Special Variant of iQOO 15
  3. Oppo K15 Pro Series With Active Cooling Fan Launched: See Price
  4. OpenAI Raises $122 Billion, Says Building Unified AI Superapp
  5. Vivo V70 FE Roundup: Launch Date, Expected Price in India, Specifications
  6. Oracle Begins Layoffs Affecting Thousands: Report
  7. iQOO 15 Apex Colour Option Revealed, Will Launch in India on April 1
  8. Lava Bold N2 Lite Arrives With a 5,000mAh Battery at This Price in India
  9. Bitcoin Price Rises to $69,000 as Ethereum Trades Around $2,100
  1. OpenAI Raises $122 Billion in Latest Funding Round, Says Building Unified AI Superapp
  2. Bitcoin Price Rises to $69,000 as Ethereum Trades Near $2,100 Mark
  3. Nothing Reportedly Developing AI-Powered Smart Glasses, Earbuds as Part of Multi-Device Push
  4. Samsung Enables Blood Pressure Monitoring on Some Galaxy Watch Models in the US; Watch 9 Development Tipped
  5. Oppo K15 Pro+ and Oppo K15 Pro Launched With Active Cooling Fan, Up to 8,000mAh Battery: Price, Features
  6. Oracle to Reportedly Lay Off Thousands of Employees
  7. iQOO 15 Apex Edition Launched in India With 144Hz Refresh Rate, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Chip: Price, Specifications
  8. Disney Reportedly Keen on Acquiring Fortnite Maker Epic Games at Some Point
  9. Lava Bold N2 Lite Launched in India With 5,000mAh Battery, 6.75-Inch Display: Price, Specifications
  10. Oppo K15 Pro Key Specifications Revealed Ahead of China Launch; Dimensity 8500 Super SoC Confirmed
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2026. All rights reserved.