Tim Cook's pay is falling 40% this year – but he's cool with it

Apple CEO Tim Cook faced opposition from some investors for his nearly $99 million pay packages in previous years. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

• Tim Cook's 2023 pay package will be slashed by 40% to $49 million, according to an SEC filing.
• The cut was done at Cook's request after his paydays in previous years faced pushback among some shareholders. 
• Last year, a top shareholder advisory firm encouraged Apple stockholders to vote against Cook's $99M pay. 

Tim Cook is getting a hefty pay cut in 2023 – but he asked for it. 

According to a filing by Apple with the SEC, Cook's target total compensation for 2023 will be $49 million, more than 40% below what he was paid in 2022. The Apple CEO will also see more pay tied to Apple's stock performance than in previous years. 

While such a massive CEO pay cut might usually indicate internal issues within a company, Cook is getting a smaller paycheck at his request after huge pay packages in previous years caused controversy among Apple shareholders. 

Last year, a top shareholder advisory firm urged Apple investors to vote against Cook's pay package, which totaled nearly $99 million for 2021, or 1,447x the median salary of an Apple employee. 

According to the SEC filing, Apple shareholders expressed "concern over the amount of Mr. Cook's total target compensation due to the size of his 2021 and 2022 equity awards" to the company's compensation committee. 

The shareholders also expressed a "preference for a higher percentage of Mr. Cook's equity award to be performance-based." 

Apple did not immediately respond to Insider's request for additional comment. 

While Apple's stock has seen weak performance over the last year, it is still significantly outperforming its big tech peers like Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet.