Running the largest tech company in the world sure has its perks.
While Apple
Jobs exercised options to purchase 120,000 shares of Apple at the drool-worthy price of $5.75 per share, and he did so only a day before they expired, so it was merely exercising an existing holding instead of getting additional compensation. That brought his position up to a cool 5,546,451 shares to his name, so I wouldn't be too worried that he didn't get more equity in the coming years. Besides, he also got to fly the world in a private Gulfstream jet that Apple bought for him to use.
At current prices near $418, the position is worth over $2.3 billion alone. Don't forget that the other, larger chunk of his wealth was from his 138 million shares of Disney. With Disney shares near $40, add another $5.5 billion to the count.
As Jobs handed over the CEO badge to longtime lieutenant Tim Cook, how is Cook's compensation faring?
A recent Wall Street Journal report mentions a handful of tech execs set to receive lofty paydays via the vesting of restricted stock in the next few months, with Cook leading the way.
By the end of March, once the shares are freed and he's able to call them his own, he's looking at a $96.2 million payday based on Dec. 30 closing prices. The shares include units he was given for his performance while Jobs was on medical leave. Oh, and don't forget the million restricted shares he was given upon officially becoming CEO. Half of those will vest in August 2016, with the remaining half in August 2021. Get comfortable, Mr. Cook; you'll be here a while.
Also included in the WSJ list is Google
Topping the list and leading by nearly sixfold, Cook is doing just fine.
Apple and Google top the list just as they're topping the mobile revolution. With iOS and Android leading the mobile revolution, some winners are hard to see -- because they're buried inside the gadgets. The proliferation of mobile gadgets is going to be breathtaking, and a handful of companies stand to rake in the profits as consumers snap up each year's latest and greatest models. We've just released a new special free report on 3 Hidden Winners of the iPhone, iPad, and Android Revolution. In it, you'll find three companies that supply crucial components that virtually every mobile device relies on. Check it out now -- it's free.