Tim Cook's personal wealth now sits at over a US$1 billion. Photo / Bloomberg
Tim Cook's personal wealth now sits at over a US$1 billion. Photo / Bloomberg
Apple boss Tim Cook was paid a US$10.7m (NZ$14.65m) annual bonus last year, 40 per cent more than in 2019 as the iPhone-maker cemented its position as one of the pandemic's biggest winners.
The chief executive also earned a salary of US$3m - unchanged from previous years - and wasgranted control of US$281.9m of stock under a long-term bonus scheme.
He now has a fortune of around US$1.02bn according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Mr Cook's payday follows a 78 per cent surge in Apple's share price in 2020, fuelled by a boom in digital services as lockdowns sent customers rushing online to shop, work and entertain themselves.
Apple became the first US$2 trillion US company in August after a stock market boom that has made tech firms more valuable than ever despite the economic havoc wreaked by Covid-19.
The company's shares have risen partly by the launch of the iPhone 12, the first featuring 5G technology.
Sales of the company's other devices such as MacBook laptops and iPads have also improved in the pandemic as workers and families spent more time on the internet while stuck at home.
On Wednesday, the company revealed that consumers spent $1.8bn on the App Store during the last week of 2020 - an increase from $1.42 billion in the same period a year earlier.
Mr Cook's pay hike was part of a widespread payout to executives as the company beat internal financial targets.
The Apple chief's total compensation of US$14.8m was around 256 times greater than the median compensation at the company of US$57,783. The tech boss has previously said he plans to give away most of his money to charity before he dies.
In the SEC filing, Apple said it would change the way issued cash bonuses to make them dependent on whether executives acted with the company's social and environmental values.
The company has outlined a number of goals, including using recycled materials in its products, as well as promoting diversity and inclusion in its workforce.
Apple said that it would introduce a modifier that could amend bonus payouts by as much as 10 per cent depending on executives' performance.
