SEC proxy filing: Apple cuts Tim Cook's 2023 target compensation by 40%+ to $49M, citing investor guidance and a request from Cook, who was paid $99.4M in 2022
at his own request Anna Cooban / WRAL TechWire : Apple CEO Tim Cook takes a pay cut for 2023 Eddie Makuch / GameSpot : How Much Does Apple's CEO Make? Anna Cooban / CNN : Tim Cook agrees to a massive pay cut Pola Rubio / International Business Times : Apple CEO Tim Cook Salary Gets Down 40% In 2023; Pay Still Outrageously High Omar Sohail / Wccftech : Apple CEO Tim Cook To Receive Massive 40 Percent Pay Cut In 2023; Executive Earned Almost $100 Million In 2022 Rida Imran / iThinkDifferent : Apple CEO Tim Cook's compensation reduced drastically to $49 million in 2023 Mashable : Tim Cook might get a huge pay cut this year, but don't worry about him too much Paul Hill / Neowin : Apple CEO Tim Cook's pay slashed by 40% for 2023 William Gallagher / AppleInsider : Tim Cook salary to drop 40%, at his request Mariella Moon / Engadget : Apple CEO Tim Cook is taking a 40 percent pay cut in 2023 SEC.gov : Attending the Annual Meeting Mehul Reuben Das / Firstpost Tech : Apple CEO Tim Cook to get massive pay cut for 2023 at his own request, will ‘only’ make $49 million Monica Miller / BBC : Apple boss Tim Cook to have pay cut by over 40% this year Rajesh Pandey / Cult of Mac : Apple CEO Tim Cook gets the 40% pay cut he asked for Olivia Peterkin / Silicon Valley Business Journal : Apple CEO Tim Cook agreed to a 40% cut in his target pay Jon Swartz / MarketWatch : Tim Cook asked Apple to cut his pay after making nearly $100 million last year Patrick McGee / Financial Times : Apple CEO Tim Cook to take 40% pay cut this year Joe Wituschek / iMore : Tim Cook is taking a huge pay cut Aaron Tilley / Wall Street Journal : Apple CEO Tim Cook to Take a 40% Pay Cut This Year David Lumb / CNET : Apple CEO Tim Cook Could Take 40% Pay Cut in 2023 Tweets: Martin Peers / @mvpeers : Surprising to see how many news outlets mistakenly reporting that Apple is cutting Tim Cook's comp; it's cutting his *target" comp which, if you look historically, is typically below his actual comp; more here https://www.theinformation.com/ ... Chance Miller / @chancehmiller : The full context of Cook's pay cut is pretty interesting...the “Say on Pay” vote sounds ruthless! https://twitter.com/... Bill Peguillan / @billpegs : Apple boss Tim Cook takes a 40% pay cut in 2023 In 2022 he made $99 million in total compensation but w Apple's stock price plunge he'll ONLY be taking home $49 million in 2023 Poor guy..how can he b expected to maintain the lifestyle he's accustomed to? https://stocks.apple.com/... @macrumors : Tim Cook also shared a letter to shareholders reflecting on the past year and Apple's values. Cook said that despite “global challenges with us all today,” it is “not a time to retreat from the future.” https://www.macrumors.com/... https://twitter.com/... Dan Rosenblum / @sharkbiotech : I am starting a gofundme for Tim https://twitter.com/... Chance Miller / @chancehmiller : Annual reminder that Tim Cook has promised to give away all of his wealth - and has apparently already started doing so. https://twitter.com/... Joe Rossignol / @rsgnl : Apple's annual shareholders meeting is set to take place virtually on Friday, March 10 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time, according to an SEC filing today. https://twitter.com/... @cwaunion : Apple said in its proxy statement today that it will conduct an assessment of its efforts to comply with its stated policy on freedom of association and collective bargaining. Spoiler alert: they aren't making an effort. https://cwa-union.org/... Mark Gurman / @markgurman : Apple CEO Tim Cook's pay will fall over 40% in 2023 (from $99.4 million to $49 million) after shareholder feedback and a recommendation from Cook after that feedback. https://www.bloomberg.com/....
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple’s latest proxy move follows investor pressure over Cook’s prior package: ISS had urged shareholders to oppose the $99M pay-and-bonus package, citing concerns about a 2021 stock award. The reduction also marks a sharp departure from Cook’s earlier record of a top pay-for-performance rating among highly paid U.S. executives.
By making the cut at Cook’s request and citing investor guidance, Apple is using its proxy filing to reset the compensation debate around its chief executive rather than defend the prior award structure.
First-order effects
- Cook’s 2023 target compensation falls to $49M from the $99.4M he received in 2022, reducing the scale of Apple’s disclosed CEO pay package.
- Apple can point shareholders to both investor input and Cook’s request when seeking support for its executive-compensation approach.
Second-order effects
- Apple’s compensation committee faces a clearer expectation to show that future equity awards track shareholder concerns, not merely the company’s historic pay-for-performance narrative.
- Proxy advisers and Apple investors gain a concrete benchmark for evaluating whether the company maintains the revised pay posture in later filings.
Third-order effects
- If other large technology companies respond similarly to investor objections, executive-pay oversight may shift from retrospective votes on outsized awards toward earlier board-led adjustments to award design.
- The episode reinforces that CEO compensation is becoming a governance signal: boards may use voluntary reductions to preserve shareholder support for long-term equity incentives.
The trend: Large-company executive compensation is moving toward more visible board responses to shareholder scrutiny, particularly when equity awards drive headline pay totals.