Apple CEO Tim Cook in line for a cool $120M payday: here's why

Apple CEO Tim Cook may be $120 million richer on Friday, thanks to the tech giant’s prolonged stock rally.

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Cook, 57, is in line to receive 560,000 shares of Apple stock as part of the compensation package related to his continued employment with the company and tied to the performance of the shares over a select time period, as detailed in a filing with the SEC.

Apple’s stock has gained 34% over the past 12-months and closed above $215 per share on Thursday, meaning Cook’s expected stock grant is valued at more than $120 million, barring any major drop. The tech giant has outperformed more than 80% of other S&P 500 firms over the past three years, according to Bloomberg.

Cook, who replaced Apple founder Steve Jobs as CEO in 2011, was initially set to receive his stock awards in two tranches that would vest over a decade. However, the tech executive asked Apple in 2013 to link one-third of the package to the company’s stock performance.

Cook has a personal net worth of more than $600 million, according to various reports. Earlier this month, Apple became the first publicly-traded company to exceed $1 trillion in valuation, helped in part by what was its strongest third-quarter ever in revenue and earnings, as Cook noted during the quarterly earnings call.

In 2017, the Apple CEO earned an annual base salary of $3 million adding in other incentives he took home over $12.8 million.