Apple CEO Tim Cook Takes 99% Pay Cut for 2012

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Thanks to an SEC filing, everyone now knows how much Apple CEO Tim Cook will make this year: $4.17 million. While that may seem like a lot, it’s actually a 99 percent decrease from his record-setting $378 million in 2011.

TechCrunch’s Darrell Etherington reported, “Apple has filed a preliminary proxy statement with the SEC today ahead of its annual shareholder meeting for 2013, and it reveals executive compensation metrics for the company’s senior leadership. CEO Tim Cook is in line for the most drastic reduction in year-over-year pay outs, with annual compensation of ‘just’ $4.17 million in 2012, compared to $378 million in 2011 and $59 million in 2010. The discrepancy is down to stock option awards, which Cook was granted a number of in both 2010 ($52 million worth) and 2011 ($376 million), but which he received none of in 2012. Those stock awards include a large number, which will vest in 2014, 2016, and 2021 respectively, and which now total over $750 million at today’s current market value, according to the filing. Cook’s 2011 compensation package was cited as one of the largest of its kind in history.”

SlashGear’s Chris Davies added, “On a salary-only basis, Cook’s pay-out has grown considerably in his time as CEO at Apple. In 2011, his base salary amounted to $900,000. Cook has also pushed through new stock ownership requirements for the Apple executive team: he’s now expected to own ten-times the amount of Apple stock as his base salary, while non-employee directors must own five-times the amount of Apple stock as their annual cash retainer. He and the others have five years to satisfy that requirement.”

The Los Angeles Times quoted Apple’s SEC filing, which said, “Despite this increase, the target annual cash compensation for Mr. Cook remains significantly below the median annual cash compensation level for CEOs at peer companies.”

Cook’s total compensation this year was actually significantly lower than that of some other Apple execs. Bloomberg’s Ville Heiskanen noted, “Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer will receive 2012 compensation valued at $68.6 million, up from $1.42 million a year earlier. His 2012 stock awards are valued at $66.2 million.”