(Reuters) – Apple Inc boss Tim Cook’s pay in 2021 was 1,447 times that of the average employee at the tech giant, a filing on Thursday showed, fueled by stock awards that helped him earn a total of nearly $100 million.
In 2021, the median pay for employees was $68,254, Apple said, adding it had selected a new median employee for comparison due to changes in hiring and compensation.
The median pay in 2020 was $57,783 and the pay ratio was 256 times Cook’s salary.
The iPhone maker has benefited from strong demand for its products and services over the past two years as consumers working from home shell out on upgrades. Apple revenue rose over 30% to $365.82 billion for its fiscal 2021, that boosted its shares to briefly cross $3 trillion in market capitalization this year.
Cook, whose salary remained at $3 million, received $82.3 million in stock awards, $12 million for hitting Apple’s targets and $1.4 million for air travel, 401(k) plan, insurance premiums and others.
In total, he received $98.7 million compared with $14.8 million in 2020.
Cook took charge in August 2011 after the company’s founder Steve Jobs stepped down months before his demise. Apple’s stock has surged over 1,000% since then.
In September, Cook received 333,987 restricted stock units, in his first stock grant since 2011 as part of a new long-term equity plan. He will be eligible to receive additional units based on performance in 2023.
For Corporate America, CEOs were paid 351 times as much as a typical worker in 2020, a report by the Economic Policy Institute showed.
(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
