Tim Cook is worth $625 million and leads a $1 trillion company - but he reportedly buys discounted underwear and prefers hiking to yachting

Rachel Premack

Aug 8, 2018, 19:32 IST

Tim Cook is worth $625 million and leads a $1 trillion company - but he reportedly buys discounted underwear and prefers hiking to yachting

Richard Drew/AP

Tim Cook's net worth is estimated around $625 million.

Apple CEO Tim Cook's net worth is estimated to be $625.37 million.
That's mostly from Apple stock options.
But the native Alabaman doesn't live very lavishly.

Apple CEO Tim Cook, 57, is at the helm of the only company in the world that's worth $1 trillion.

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But he actually is a lot less wealthy than leaders of other, less revenue-generating corporations. He's worth "only" $625 million, while folks like Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Larry Page are worth tens of billions.

Cook, who is the son of a shipyard worker and a pharmacy employee, said he's not motivated by money - and that shows through in what we know about the private CEO's habits.

Here's how Cook made his millions and what he does with them.

Tim Cook is worth at least $625.37 million, according to a 2017 estimate by data company Equilar reported by Time.

The bulk of that is from his total stock options and shares in Apple, which total nearly $622 million. Cook is also on the Nike board of directors, where he has $3.4 million in stock options.

Cook's actual net worth is certainly even higher than that — but information on his property, investment portfolio, and cash on hand isn't publicly available.

That's relatively low compared to other tech CEOs. Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Larry Page are all worth tens of billions.

Even though Apple is the highest-value company on the planet, there's only one known Apple-related billionaire: Laurene Powell Jobs, who is Apple cofounder Steve Jobs' widow.

In 2017, Cook's salary as CEO was $3 million. That's up from his first year as CEO in 2011, when his salary was $900,000.

Cook, who came out as gay in 2014, is not married and has no children. He leads a private, solitary life, but here's what we know about how he spends his fortune...

Despite being a multi-millionaire, Cook is remarkably frugal. He reportedly buys his underwear at Nordstrom's semi-annual sale.

"I like to be reminded of where I came from, and putting myself in modest surroundings helps me do that," Cook said. "Money is not a motivator for me."

As of 2012, Cook lives in a $1.9 million Palo Alto home that's 2,400 square feet. That's relatively modest for the ritzy Bay Area city, which now has a median home value of $3.3 million.

Cook spends most of his time at the office — which includes reportedly waking up at 3:45 a.m. to start reading and responding to emails.

As for travel, Cook has to travel often for work. Apple spent $93,109 last year on Cook's private plane alone.

But he keeps it domestic when it comes to personal travel, visiting spots like Yosemite National Park.

One of his known vacations was to New York City with his nephew. He showed the tween boy around the New York Stock Exchange in 2016.

Indeed, Cook's most-known hobby is his love of fitness, hiking, and cycling.

Cook goes to the gym at 5 a.m. every morning — but not the Apple company gym, so he can keep a low profile.

Sources: Mashable, Business Insider

But we do know that Cook likes to spend money on political causes. He's thrown fundraisers for politicians like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

And Cook plans to give away all of his money to charity when he dies. He has no children of his own, and wants to create a better world for his nephew. "You want to be the pebble in the pond that creates the ripple for change," he told Fortune in 2015.

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