Apple CEO Tim Cook will defend his profits. The top advisory group Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has recommended Apple investors to vote against Cook’s salary and bonuses in excess of $ 98 million.
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With this move, ISS wants to force one of the most important fighters for social and labor equality in Silicon Valley to publicly defend its rewards in the most valuable society in the world. Foreign servers such as the BBC or the Financial Times reported it.
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The ISS told its clients that there was “considerable concern” about the stock valuation Cook received last year. The CEO’s earnings are 144 times higher than the median earnings of an Apple employee.
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In addition to a salary of $ 3 million last year, Cook also received shares worth $ 82 million. This is his first stock reward since 2011, when he was appointed to Apple. The CEO also received a $ 12 million bonus last year.
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Apple’s general manager’s salary package also included personal security costs in excess of $ 600,000. Another $ 712,000 went to using a private jet. In total, Cook received rewards of about $ 98 million last year.
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Apple is scheduled to hold an annual meeting for shareholders in the first week of March. However, the shareholders’ vote is only advisory, as Apple’s Board of Directors decides on salary packages. Last year, 95 percent of shareholders’ votes were satisfied with the remuneration of Apple executives.
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Cook’s fortune will go to charity
Apple’s total shareholder returns now exceed one thousand percent, including nearly a 30 percent increase in Apple’s share price over the past 12 months. Apple said its board’s remuneration committee “will continue to consider shareholder feedback in future remuneration decisions.”
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Cook’s Apple leadership earned a standing ovation after the company reached a market capitalization of more than $ 3 trillion in early January. The CEO managed to dispel the initial doubts about whether the company will thrive even after the death of co-founder Steve Jobs.
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However, Cook does not want to keep the money to himself. Last year, a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed that Cook donated about $ 10 million worth of Apple shares to charity without naming a recipient. In addition, in 2015, Tim Cook stated that he would distribute all of his property before his death.
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