Apple's Tim Cook plans to give away all of his money
Apple chief executive Tim Cook has revealed plans to donate the vast majority of his wealth to charity before he dies, saying that he wants to develop a "systematic approach" to philanthropy.
Including both vested and unvested shares of Apple, Cook's net worth currently hovers near $1 billion, according to Fortune's Adam Lashinsky. Cook will contribute substantially all of those funds to charity, after setting aside a small amount to fund his nephew's education.
Cook's pledge follows similar vows from many other technology luminaries, led by Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Gates has given away nearly $30 billion thus far, and the $42 billion endowment of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation puts it among the richest and largest philanthropic organizations in the world.
Late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs was known to take a more private approach to philanthropy, giving money anonymously or declining to be named. Jobs contributed some $50 million to Stanford Medical Center, for instance, but the gift remained unknown until after Jobs's death.
It remains unclear whether Cook will seek to partner with people like Gates -- as investor Warren Buffet has done -- or if he will choose to endow a foundation of his own.
Including both vested and unvested shares of Apple, Cook's net worth currently hovers near $1 billion, according to Fortune's Adam Lashinsky. Cook will contribute substantially all of those funds to charity, after setting aside a small amount to fund his nephew's education.
Cook's pledge follows similar vows from many other technology luminaries, led by Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Gates has given away nearly $30 billion thus far, and the $42 billion endowment of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation puts it among the richest and largest philanthropic organizations in the world.
Late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs was known to take a more private approach to philanthropy, giving money anonymously or declining to be named. Jobs contributed some $50 million to Stanford Medical Center, for instance, but the gift remained unknown until after Jobs's death.
It remains unclear whether Cook will seek to partner with people like Gates -- as investor Warren Buffet has done -- or if he will choose to endow a foundation of his own.
Comments
Awesome! Way to go Tim, and great job setting a selfless example for others.
Cook will contribute substantially all of those funds to charity, after setting aside a small amount to fund his nephew's education.
"Small amount" probably = a few million or tens of millions. Good for him!
Since he has no close family that I've heard of, 'spouse' or bothers/sisters, cannot say this would come as a surprise.
nonsense. it is not the normal, default expectation that old rich guys will give away their billion-dollar fortunes, single or otherwise. further, he evidently does have family, which i for one have no clue about and suspect you dont either. lastly, he's certainly young enough to marry before death.
If Tim Cook really wished to be good, he would give away all of his money today.
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
If Tim Cook really wished to be good, he would give away all of his money today.
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
You do realize a big portion of that is in the form of stock, which has not vested yet. So it would be only logical to wait.... when it's actually worth more.
Who are you to say when and to whom Cook should give his money away?
who on earth could criticize or question his abilities? find out!
^ We just did.
Dasanman69 should sue for title infringement.
Typical liberal idea of "doing good" which often tends to fall very short of intentions (much shorter than other means of doing good available).
Tim has a billion dollars (and many other former middle-class Apple employees are wealthy too, not to mention partners like developers) thanks to a for-profit company that created vast amounts of wealth by creating commercial products that had to compete effectively in a free market, and that made millions of human lives better...so much better that those customers were willing to freely pay for them with their hard-earned money.
Sounds like a wonderful and sustainable model for the creation of wealth and happiness to me!
But somehow, people like Tim (and Buffett and Bill Gates, etc.) think that giving their money away to "non-profit" entities led by people who have no idea how to create wealth and rarely create "products" that people would actually pay for with their hard-earned money is the best use of their estates. Usually, it's not.
If Tim were smart, he'd create a giant incubator for new businesses, and the teaching of business skills and "invention" skills...all for profit, and all subject to the same realities that free-market, for-profit businesses have to deal with.
My bet is that such a use of a billion dollars would do far more good for far more people on this planet than any donation to charities ever could....
Good man, Tim Cook.
Typical liberal idea of "doing good" which often tends to fall very short of intentions (much shorter than other means of doing good available).
Tim has a billion dollars (and many other former middle-class Apple employees are wealthy too, not to mention partners like developers) thanks to a for-profit company that created vast amounts of wealth by creating commercial products that had to compete effectively in a free market, and that made millions of human lives better...so much better that those customers were willing to freely pay for them with their hard-earned money.
Sounds like a wonderful and sustainable model for the creation of wealth and happiness to me!
But somehow, people like Tim (and Buffett and Bill Gates, etc.) think that giving their money away to "non-profit" entities led by people who have no idea how to create wealth and rarely create "products" that people would actually pay for with their hard-earned money is the best use of their estates. Usually, it's not.
If Tim were smart, he'd create a giant incubator for new businesses, and the teaching of business skills and "invention" skills...all for profit, and all subject to the same realities that free-market, for-profit businesses have to deal with.
My bet is that such a use of a billion dollars would do far more good for far more people on this planet than any donation to charities ever could....
I think a little of both is warranted.
You know... I've been reading appleinsider since it was first birthed. I barely post in the forums due to a lot of the back and forth that just makes it unappealing. But I do like to see others opinions. And read it daily. I must say, sir, you are something else. I've paid attention to you and your posts. While some contradict others, or are slightly hypocritical when compared to others, I've paid attention. Trying to better understand you. But... You make my visit here everyday less and less enjoyable. I've never been so sickened by a voice of opinion or someone's views... But you? You've somehow managed to make me second guess reading posts from articles. I don't understand your mission. But whatever it is... I wish it wasn't here. I don't own apple stock. But I fully support Apple and it's team leading the way. I don't get how a stockholder as you've claimed can be so negative with a company doing amazing things... and making you money at that. I'm just baffled. And I'll stop myself at this point. I've never once blocked anyone as it's worthless to do so. But. Damn. You're making me second guess it.
The linked Fortune article says he has already quietly started making donations.
helluva a leader, and a man. he's built up the biggest, most successful tech firm in history, and hes going to give away his personal fortune earned for doing so. who on earth could criticize or question his abilities? find out!
Tim Cook has presided over the greatest DROP in Apple product quality I've noticed since the second Jobs era began.
I run into more frustrating bugs in Apple products than I ever had before, and while I used to believe that "It Just Works" was a slogan that you could truly use to describe the experience of using Apple gear (for the most part...no company or product is perfect), that's no longer remotely true.
Apple has become sloppy, and very slow at addressing its sloppiness when it does finally move to correct it.
And yet, the idea that Apple products "Just Work" is what created all of the great opportunities for Apple in the last 15+ years. It compelled people to pay a premium for Apple gear, and it compelled them to trust Apple when it introduced new products in new categories.
But under Tim Cook's watch, that's all started to noticeably erode. It's not the mark of a great leader. It's the mark of **mediocrity.** Tim has been coasting on Apple's earlier greatness and tremendous momentum. That doesn't stop on a dime but it's very telling that the most important asset Apple has ever had -- It Just Works -- is what has suffered the most since Tim has taken the helm.
The way I see it is that a person is free to do whatever they wish with their own money, as long as they have legitimately and legally earned it.
I am personally not a big fan of charity, but if that's what somebody likes, then go for it.
Tim Cook has presided over the greatest DROP in Apple product quality I've noticed since the second Jobs era began.
I run into more frustrating bugs in Apple products than I ever had before, and while I used to believe that "It Just Works" was a slogan that you could truly use to describe the experience of using Apple gear (for the most part...no company or product is perfect), that's no longer remotely true.
Apple has become sloppy, and very slow at addressing its sloppiness when it does finally move to correct it.
And yet, the idea that Apple products "Just Work" is what created all of the great opportunities for Apple in the last 15+ years. It compelled people to pay a premium for Apple gear, and it compelled them to trust Apple when it introduced new products in new categories.
But under Tim Cook's watch, that's all started to noticeably erode. It's not the mark of a great leader. It's the mark of **mediocrity.** Tim has been coasting on Apple's earlier greatness and tremendous momentum. That doesn't stop on a dime but it's very telling that the most important asset Apple has ever had -- It Just Works -- is what has suffered the most since Tim has taken the helm.
The software quality has dropped but the hardware quality has remained the same. But the software bugs are not due to laziness and "coasting" - quite the opposite. His strategy is to move so fast that his competitors (e.g. Samsung) can't keep up. e.g. by the time they have copied the iPhone 5 the iPhone 6 is already out.
The problem with this strategy is that software development (as a field) is not well enough understood enough to move that fast. Hence the bugs. I think this is what Swift is for, to try and remedy this. But I have studied that language spec cover to cover and it won't. There is no choice but to slow down a bit on the software side. Jony Ive's beautiful hardware alone, advancing at a rapid pace, should be enough to bamboozle competitors.