Apple CEO Tim Cook says he’ll donate his fortune to charity
In this March 9 photo, Apple CEO Tim Cook applauds at the conclusion of the Apple “Spring Forward” launch event in San Francisco.
Business tycoon-philanthropists Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have some new company: Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook.
Cook plans to donate all of his money to philanthropic causes after paying for his 10-year-old nephew’s college education, he told Fortune magazine.
In an article published Thursday, Cook’s net worth was estimated at $120 million, based on his holdings of Apple stock. His restricted stock holdings are worth an additional $665 million if fully vested, according to Fortune.
Apple did not immediately comment.
Since succeeding Steve Jobs in 2011 as Apple CEO, Cook has made several donations on behalf of the company, including more than $40 million to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, a nonprofit that supports students attending public historically black colleges and universities, medical schools and law schools, and $50 million to Stanford University for new hospital buildings, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
He joins former Microsoft CEO Gates, investor Buffett and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, all of whom have committed to donating more than half of their wealth to charity. Gates and Buffett launched the Giving Pledge, which asks the wealthy to dedicate the majority of their wealth to philanthropy.
According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the nation’s biggest donors contributed $10.2 billion last year to nonprofits. Topping the list were Bill and Melinda Gates with $1.9 billion, most of which went to the endowment of their family foundation.
Shares of Apple were down 67 cents, or 0.5%, to $123.57 in midday trading.
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