Apple's Tim Cook gets US$750m bonus payout

[NEW YORK] Apple chief executive Tim Cook has received a bonus of some US$750 million, reflecting his performance at the US technology giant in his 10 years at the helm, a regulatory filing showed.

The Thursday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed Mr Cook's bonus was granted in some five million Apple shares, which were subsequently cashed out.

The bonus reflects a stock option plan implemented in 2011 when Cook took over as CEO from Steve Jobs shortly before the Apple co-founder's death.

Since then, Apple's market value has skyrocketed and the California giant's worth is estimated at more than US$2.4 trillion.

The stock award included 1.1 million shares granted based on Apple's performance and 3.9 million time-based share awards, all of which were vested this month.

Cook still owns some 3.2 million Apple shares worth US$483 million at today's value.

His net worth is estimated by Forbes magazine at some US$1.4 billion, well below that of other Silicon Valley tech leaders.

The Alabama native held a variety of jobs at Apple before taking over from Jobs as CEO.

Under his leadership, the iPhone maker expanded into new areas of digital content and subscriptions to diversify its revenue stream.

AFP