Tim Cook announced he was stepping back as the CEO of Apple after 15 years to make way for 50-year-old John Ternus, who will begin his new role in September. This comes after Tim took the company from a flailing business to a global powerhouse when he joined Apple back in 1998 as the worldwide operations guru.
"It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the CEO of Apple and to have been trusted to lead such an extraordinary company," the 65-year-old said in a statement.
"I love Apple with all of my being, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with a team of such ingenious, innovative, creative, and deeply caring people who have been unwavering in their dedication to enriching the lives of our customers and creating the best products and services in the world."
© Getty Images for ApplePrior to his run at Apple, Tim earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Auburn University and an MBA from Duke University. After a brief stint at Compaq and 12 years at IBM, he landed a spot at Apple, where he quickly turned the inefficient operations of the company around.
Tim became COO of the company in 2005 and took over the CEO position from founder Steve Jobs in 2011. Under his leadership, Tim saw Apple go from a market capitalization of $350 billion to a whopping $4 trillion as of 2026.
Tim saw the rollout of massively popular products like the Apple Watch and Apple AirPods, as well as subscriptions and digital content. It will come as no surprise that the businessman is worth an incredible $2.9 billion, as per Forbes.
© AppleHe earned a salary of $500,000 per year while working as the Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations, and received a pay rise to $900,000 per year when he became CEO. His base salary has sat at $3 million per year for almost a decade, and Tim also earns eye-popping cash bonuses from the company for hitting revenue targets.
His total take-home pay in 2022 was $99.4 million, while 2025 saw him earn a total of $74 million. Much of Tim's wealth comes from his extensive shares in Apple, which total between 3.28 million and 3.34 million.
© Corbis via Getty ImagesAs a result, Tim is one of Apple's largest individual insider shareholders. His savvy stock market moves and large salary made him a billionaire in August 2020, and he sits at number 1504 on Forbes' billionaires list.
© AFP via Getty ImagesTim also works closely with other companies and sits on the board of both Nike, Inc. and the National Football Foundation.
As far as billionaires go, Tim keeps things modest when it comes to his home life. He lives in a 2,400 square-foot home in Palo Alto, California, which he bought for $1.9 million in 2010. He also owns a 10,000-square-foot abode in La Quinta, California, which he paid $10.1 million for in 2018.
