Apple CEO Tim Cook Set to Reap Nearly $100 Million in Vesting Stock This Quarter

tim cook headshotThe Wall Street Journal reports that data from executive compensation tracking firm Equilar shows Apple CEO Tim Cook set to see a major windfall during the first quarter of 2012 with the vesting of two separate restricted stock unit grants currently valued at nearly $100 million.

Of all the Silicon Valley executives who have a vesting event scheduled for the first quarter of 2012, the one who stands to reap the most is Apple Inc. Chief Executive Tim Cook, the study found.

Mr. Cook has portions of two restricted-stock-unit grants—including one he received for filling in for Steve Jobs when the co-founder was on medical leave—vesting in the first quarter. As of Apple's closing stock price on Dec 30, those vesting shares of Mr. Cook's were worth $96.2 million, according to the study.

The majority of the amount comes from a grant of 200,000 restricted stock units awarded to Cook in September 2008 as part of a package of retention bonuses paid out to Apple executives. That grant will vest on March 24th and is worth $83 million at today's stock price.

The remaining portion comes from a grant awarded in March 2010 in recognition of Cook's service while Steve Jobs was on a medical leave of absence during the first half of 2009. That bonus included $5 million in cash and 75,000 restricted stock units. The second half of those stock units, worth $15.5 million at today's stock price, will vest on March 10th. The first portion of that grant vested on March 10th of last year and would have brought Cook approximately $13 million.

The vesting stock is separate from an award of one million share units given to Cook as he officially took on the role of CEO. That grant is worth $415 million at today's stock price, but will not vest for a number of years. Cook will receive half of the shares in 2016 and the remainder in 2021, with both events contingent upon Cook remaining CEO of Apple.

Popular Stories

Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple's CarPlay Ultra to Expand to These Vehicle Brands Later This Year

Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. In his Powe...
Apple Logo Black

Apple's Next Launch is 'Imminent'

Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models. "All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

New MacBook Pros Reportedly Launching Alongside macOS 26.3

Sunday February 1, 2026 5:42 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
We are still waiting for the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate to come out, so the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week or two away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

Apple Changes How You Order a Mac

Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...

Top Rated Comments

basesloaded190 Avatar
184 months ago
It's more difficult, sure.. but it isn't several orders of magnitude more difficult. I have to admit the way people like you deify the work of people like Cook is fairly amusing... what they do isn't all that difficult; you just need to be intelligent, diligent, and well-versed in your area of expertise.

There are hundreds of thousands (likely millions) of Americans who could do what Tim does.

You had me until there.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacSince1990 Avatar
184 months ago
And he's worth it, too.



If you read the article, it's stock from 2008. Also, his work is a bit more difficult than the average American's.

It's more difficult, sure.. but it isn't several orders of magnitude more difficult. I have to admit the way people like you deify the work of people like Cook is fairly amusing... what they do isn't all that difficult; you just need to be intelligent, diligent, and well-versed in your area of expertise.

There are hundreds of thousands (likely millions) of Americans who could do what Tim does.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rmwebs Avatar
184 months ago
Cha-ching!

I guess the drinks are on Tim tonight then! :cool:

IMO he deserves it - he's made notable change for the good over the last few months.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacSince1990 Avatar
184 months ago
You had me until there.

There are 300,000,000 Americans. You really don't think that 1 in 10,000 (conservatively) has the potential to do what he does? Just because someone's a doctor, or a lawyer, or a musician or an artist or a professor doesn't mean they're incapable of being exceptionally good at anything else.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
soco Avatar
184 months ago
So has Mandella... but I don't recall him being compensated with the equivalent of the average lifetime earnings of 100 Americans for three months of work >_>
Pfft, Mandella shmandella. He never gave me an antenna with spatial diversity. Besides, I'm more concerned with the next Angry Birds. ;):rolleyes:

#firstworldpriorities
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacSince1990 Avatar
184 months ago

IMO he deserves it - he's made notable change for the good over the last few months.

So has Mandella... but I don't recall him being compensated with the equivalent of the average lifetime earnings of 100 Americans for three months of work >_>
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)