Tim Cook got an additional 41 million USD thanks to selling Apple shares

Apple CEO Tim Cook has just carried out the largest sale of Apple shares in the past 2 years.

A report filed with the US Securities Commission (SEC) on October 3 showed that Tim Cook sold 511,000 Apple shares . This number costs 87.8 million USD before taxes. After taxes, Cook received $41.5 million.

This is his largest stock sale since August 2021. At that time, Cook sold up to 355 million USD. Currently, he still owns 3.3 million Apple shares, worth $565 million.

Apple CEO Tim Cook at the iPhone launch event 15 months ago. Photo: Reuters

Since peaking at $198.2 in July, Apple shares have fallen 13%. The reason is that investors are concerned that smartphone demand will recover more slowly than expected.

Apple last month launched the iPhone 15 and did not increase the price. This move is said by observers to adapt to the declining situation of the global smartphone market.

Analysts at KeyBanc predict that Apple's revenue growth in the US - its largest market - will slow down in the last quarter of the year. The reason is that high inflation makes fewer users want to upgrade their phones.

Another report from research firm Canalys also shows that the number of smartphones sold in North America could decrease by 12% in 2023.

Tim Cook has been CEO of Apple since 2011 and has become a billionaire since 2020. Currently, he owns assets worth $1.9 billion, according to Forbes . In 2015, he announced his plan to give away most of his assets to charity. To date, Cook has given away millions of dollars in Apple stock.

How Steve Jobs convinced Tim Cook about Apple
Tim Cook left Compaq - the world's largest personal computer company to go to Apple - a company that almost went bankrupt.

Before joining Apple, Tim Cook held many impressive positions at major technology companies. He worked for 12 years at IBM, holding leadership roles at Intelligent Electronics and Compaq. During his time at Compaq - then the world's largest personal computer company, Cook repeatedly rejected Apple. However, Apple's persistence eventually paid off.

In a 2014 interview, Cook said that one day, he decided he should at least meet Steve Jobs once. "Steve created the industry I work in," he said. "He's doing something completely different."

When the two sides first met, Jobs introduced his strategy and vision for Apple. He described a product that would shake up the computer industry, a design unlike any computer before. That is the iMac G3.

Tim Cook (left) and Steve Jobs at an event. Photo: CNBC

Cook felt very attracted. Although he was still satisfied with his job at Compaq, meeting Jobs gave him a new and exciting feeling. "He revealed a little bit about the design, enough to make me feel interesting," Cook said. When he left, he felt that working with a Silicon Valley legend like Jobs would be "the honor of a lifetime."

Cook also had doubts at that time, but it was not big enough to make him refuse the invitation. "When we weighed the costs and benefits, Compaq still outperformed. Those who knew me best advised me to stay," Cook said in a commencement address at Auburn University. asked for advice and said I would be silly if I left Compaq to go to Apple."

However, Cook knows that quitting his job at Apple also means giving up the opportunity to participate in something very special. "I always think that following the crowd is not a good thing. It's even bad," Cook said, "But when I look at the problems that Apple has, I think I can contribute to it." . My instinct said to do it. And I listened to it."

In March 1998, Jobs recruited Cook to work as Senior Vice President in charge of global operations. Base salary of $400,000 a year with a $500,000 signing bonus.

At that time, Apple was not a place many people wanted to work. Apple almost went bankrupt and employee morale was also very low. Cook understood very well that he was in for a mess.

With the task of reforming production and distribution for Apple, Cook was one of the best employees Jobs ever recruited. With a background in purchasing, he couldn't be a better choice for Apple in general, and Jobs in particular.

"Cook has the same vision as me," Jobs once said in his autobiography, "We can interact at a highly strategic level, and I would forget a lot of things if he didn't come and remind me." Observers affirm that Cook and Jobs are a perfect combination.