Tim Cook has received a $47m (£35m) pay deal as Apple’s executive chair, a remuneration package that nears the level set for his successor as chief executive.
Cook, who handed over to John Ternus on Tuesday, will be paid a base salary of $2m and $45m worth of shares. Half of the share award will be based on performance targets being met, while the remaining half will be paid out over four years.
Ternus will receive a base salary of $3m and a $55m share award, with the latter more weighted to performance.
Cook’s total compensation as chief executive for 2025 exceeded $74m. Cook, who owns more than 3m shares in Apple, has been placed in the multi-billionaire category by Forbes, which estimates his wealth at $3bn.
His predecessor, the Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, was paid a symbolic $1 a year but was worth $7bn when he died, including a sizeable shareholding in Disney he acquired after selling the Pixar animation studio to the entertainment conglomerate.
Cook took over from Jobs in 2011 having impressed as an operations specialist. The stock has risen 2,200% since he took charge, with Apple now valued at about $4.7tn – compared with about $350bn when he became chief executive.
He built the tech company’s sophisticated supply chain and is succeeded by a 51-year-old engineer and longstanding Apple employee, who built products as senior vice-president of hardware engineering.
Ternus’s role meant he ran the engineering teams behind Apple’s entire product lineup, including the iPhones that generate most of the company’s revenue. Analysts are not only anticipating new products but also further progress on integrating AI into Apple hardware.
Ternus’s first big public moment at Apple will be at its annual iPhone event on 9 September, where a foldable handset is expected to be revealed. New iterations of the Apple Watch and AirPods are also anticipated, although Bloomberg reported last week that AirPods with cameras – another big product rumour – “aren’t launching anytime soon”.
Cook’s new mandate includes engaging with policymakers around the world and will involve maintaining the company’s relationship with Donald Trump, as well as overseeing the company’s diplomatic ties with China – a key production hub. In a final memo to employees on Monday, he focused on Apple’s products.
“I will miss leading you and being with you for every step, even as I take enormous comfort in handing the helm to someone as brilliant and wonderful and capable as John,” he said. “Few people understand what it takes to build products that change the world the way John does.”
