With news that Apple CEO Steve Jobs is stepping down, all eyes are on his replacement Tim Cook, who has promised staff that things won't change just because Steve is gone. However, one thing that is likely to change is the CEO's salary. While Steve Jobs has earned just $1 per year (don't worry, Mr Jobs has approximately 5.5 million Apple shares, he's not starving), Tim Cook's salary for 2010 was significantly more.
According to Forbes.com, Tim Cook's compensation for last year was a little over $59 million. His actual base salary was $800,016, but he received a $5,000,000 bonus, $52,334,250 in restricted stock awards, $58,306 that's marked under 'all other compensation,' and $900,000 via non-equity incentive plan compensation. All of this adds up to a grand total of $59,092,572. In January, AppleInsider reported that that $5 million bonus was a "special award" to recognize Cook's "outstanding performance" in overseeing the company's day-to-day operations during Jobs' 2009 medical leave of absence. He was also given 75,000 restricted shares of AAPL stock for his troubles.
It's not yet known how much Cook will receive for filling in for Steve Jobs during his most recent leave of absence. It's also not known if Cook will receive a salary bump now that he's the CEO. It's also not clear if Steve Jobs will receive a retirement package from Apple. The San Francisco Chronicle says Apple's financial statements give no indication of any severance package, pension or health plan for Steve.
