Apple’s Cook Rejects $75m Payout

Apple’s boss Tim Cook has turned down a payout worth about $75m (£48m). The technology giant will pay a quarterly dividend of $2.65 per share from July, the first time Apple has declared a dividend since 1995.

But a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that Mr Cook will not take up his dividends. A newspaper recently said that Mr Cook was the best-paid boss in the US with an income of more than $300m.

“At Mr Cook’s request, none of his restricted stock units will participate in dividend equivalents,” the filing said. It did not say why. According to the Wall Street Journal, Mr Cook made $378m last year, most of which came from a grant of one million shares awarded. His base salary is $900,000. His predecessor, Steve Jobs, famously had an annual salary of $1.

Earlier this week, Apple’s lead designer Jonathan Ive was knighted. The Briton – responsible for the designs behind iconic products like Apple’s iPod, iPhone and iPad – also reaffirmed his desire to stay at the company.

Since the death of Jobs, the Apple co-founder and figurehead, many have speculated that the company might struggle to maintain its reputation for innovative products and would face an exodus of top talent.

That has not happened yet as Apple has sought to lock in people like Mr Cook and Sir Jonathan through long-term stock options.

Apple has about $110bn in cash. In March, the tech giant said it would use its cash to start paying a dividend to shareholders and to buy back some of its shares.

It expects to use $45bn over the next three years. Earlier this year, Apple’s shares touched a high of $644, surpassing $600bn in market value and making the company the world’s most valuable firm. Since then, Apple shares have dropped to $562 each, making the company worth $525bn.