Apple CEO Tim Cook Hits Billionaire Status Unlike several other big tech CEOs, Cook is not a founder-CEO, so his net worth is considerably lower than some of his peers.

By Shona Ghosh Edited by Frances Dodds

This story originally appeared on Business Insider

Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP via BI
Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has hit billionaire status, according to an analysis by Bloomberg.

His $1 billion-plus net worth reflects a mix of the money he's earned at Apple through his salary, the number of shares he holds in the company, and the estimated proceeds from his share sales, per Bloomberg.

Cook took the top job at Apple in August 2011, taking over from longtime CEO and founder Steve Jobs.

He was a longtime Jobs lieutenant, signing onto the company in 1998 as SVP of worldwide operations, striking critical deals with manufacturers to help Apple become a hardware powerhouse. As a relatively unknown exec, industry watchers questioned whether he could fill Jobs' shoes, but Apple has approached a near $2 trillion market cap on his watch.

Cook currently holds 847,969 Apple shares, which at the current stock price are worth more than $380 million. In 2019, Cook's compensation package included a $3 million base salary and around $7.6 million in incentive pay, making him one of the highest-paid CEOs in the US.

An SEC filing from January indicates he sold off 6,880 Apple shares at the end of December, which would have netted him around $2 million.

As an executive who rose up Apple's ranks, Cook is less wealthy than other famous big tech CEOs.

The three wealthiest people in the world are all tech founders: Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, with a net worth of $186 billion; Microsoft founder Bill Gates at $121 billion; and Facebook founder-CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who has a net worth just shy of $100 billion.

Other notable execs-turned-CEOs of major tech companies are Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, neither of whom appear on Bloomberg's billionaire index.

Shona Ghosh

Senior Reporter

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Buying / Investing in Business

Former Zillow Execs Target $1.3T Market

Co-ownership is creating big opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Business News

The U.S. Mint Announced It Will Stop Making Pennies. Here's How It Will Affect Businesses and Consumers.

Can you still pay with pennies? How will businesses make exact change? Here's what we know.

Side Hustle

She Started a Creative Side Hustle While Working 'Dead-End' Jobs — Then Grew It From $10,000 to Over $50,000 a Month: '[It] Became Magnetic'

Alyssa O'Toole, 35, juggled "mismatched uniforms and odd hours" to turn her passion into a business.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Leadership

Lead From the Top: 5 Core Responsibilities of a CEO

Knowing exactly what the chief executive's role entails is critical for steering a company to success.

Starting a Business

Entrepreneur+ Subscriber-Only Event | May 28: How This Founder Sold 3 Million Units of His Toy Ball Idea

Subscribe to Entrepreneur+ for just $5! Get access to all member benefits, including our next Subscriber-Only Event with Joe Burke, Founder of Ollyball.