Apple CEO Tim Cook donates $5M in company stock to charity

Posted:
in General Discussion edited August 2020
Apple CEO Tim Cook last week gifted 10,715 shares of directly owned company stock to an unidentified charity, an amount worth over $5 million at the end of trading on Friday.

Tim Cook


Recorded by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and revealed today, Cook's donation was executed on Friday. As no shares were sold, a reporting price was not applied to the transfer.

If converted on Monday, with AAPL ending the day at $503.43, Cook's gift would be worth about $5.4 million.

It is unclear where Cook's shares were transferred, though the executive has in the past donated to human rights organizations. Corporate leaders are obliged to disclose movement of owned shares, but are not required to publicly report a charitable transaction's recipient.

In 2014, Cook donated a "substantial sum" to Human Rights Campaign's Project One America, a group that promotes LGBT rights in the U.S. South. That same year, he gave $291,791 to Pennsylvania's Steel Valley School District, funds that were later used to purchase iPads for students and teachers.

Cook in 2015 and again in 2018 transferred Apple share packages to undisclosed charities, the identities of which were not revealed.

The Apple CEO is now in control of 837,374 shares of beneficially owned Apple stock, which are held in a private trust.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    "Greedy Apple". "Greedy Tim Cook."

    Greedy greedy greedy
  • Reply 2 of 16
    carnegiecarnegie Posts: 1,082member
    He’s done this each of the last 3 years just before his 560,000 shares vested on August 24th.
    fastasleepjony0
  • Reply 3 of 16
    RailRail Posts: 1member
    It's bogus.  Who wouldn't name a charity they support (and supposedly believe in) so others could support it in kind. Just a tax write off...
  • Reply 4 of 16
    Rail said:
    It's bogus.  Who wouldn't name a charity they support (and supposedly believe in) so others could support it in kind. Just a tax write off...
    I bet you are real fun at parties. 

    Edit. I changed my mind. You are not fun at parties since you do not exist. You are a troll with one post ever. 
    edited August 2020 Japheyronnjony0
  • Reply 5 of 16
    doggonedoggone Posts: 396member
    There are obviously tax benefits for donating to charity if you qualify.  I'm sure TC's taxes are complicated and he can claim charitable donations to reduce his taxable income. In the end TC pays for the majority of the donation and the government pays for the rest since the total tax is reduced.
  • Reply 6 of 16
    zeus423zeus423 Posts: 263member
    As a stockholder, I'd like to see Apple be more frugal with how they support various causes. It seems lately they're throwing money at everything and anything that comes up. I guess I just remember those scary days when we didn't know if Apple would make it. I'd prefer they squirrel away money instead of aiming to be cash neutral in the future.

    As for Tim Cook, it's his money and he can do whatever he wants with it. Good for him!
  • Reply 7 of 16
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,452member
    zeus423 said:
    As a stockholder, I'd like to see Apple be more frugal with how they support various causes. It seems lately they're throwing money at everything and anything that comes up. I guess I just remember those scary days when we didn't know if Apple would make it. I'd prefer they squirrel away money instead of aiming to be cash neutral in the future.
    Gee, you think maybe they have some people working for them who know what's best for the company and its massive pile of cash and have considered the pros and cons of throwing money at various things?
    mike1jony0
  • Reply 8 of 16
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    zeus423 said:
    As a stockholder, I'd like to see Apple be more frugal with how they support various causes. It seems lately they're throwing money at everything and anything that comes up. I guess I just remember those scary days when we didn't know if Apple would make it. I'd prefer they squirrel away money instead of aiming to be cash neutral in the future.

    As for Tim Cook, it's his money and he can do whatever he wants with it. Good for him!
    As a stockholder you should understand that, given the state of interest rates, squirelling money away is just watching it lose value over time. 
    fastasleepmike1jony0
  • Reply 9 of 16
    I'd say donating to a charity is a win-win. I'm sure that Cook would have more money if he simply paid the tax on the entire amount, rather than donating a part of it to charity and claiming a tax benefit on that. 

    At the end of the day, he has earned the right to do what he wants with the money and whether he wants to announce to whom he has donated the money.

    He has steered Apple to a $2T+ company, making many, many (Apple) shareholders happy.
  • Reply 10 of 16
    fred1fred1 Posts: 1,130member
    I agree that it's wonderful that he gives money to charity and of course he's free to do what he wants with his own money, but I do wonder why he doesn't want to disclose the name of the charity.  His call, of course, but seems odd.
  • Reply 11 of 16
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,452member
    fred1 said:
    I agree that it's wonderful that he gives money to charity and of course he's free to do what he wants with his own money, but I do wonder why he doesn't want to disclose the name of the charity.  His call, of course, but seems odd.
    Jobs gave to charities as well and didn't talk about it. It's personal. Also, just look at the assholes here who chastise him for giving money to any sort of humanitarian cause. ¯\(°_o)/¯ 
    jony0
  • Reply 12 of 16
    Celebrating his first billion by giving away all of 0,5% of it.  And the fun thing is: people think it is generous.
  • Reply 13 of 16
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,605member
    fred1 said:
    I agree that it's wonderful that he gives money to charity and of course he's free to do what he wants with his own money, but I do wonder why he doesn't want to disclose the name of the charity.  His call, of course, but seems odd.
    One very logical reason may be that it hasn't made its way to a charity yet.  Donor-Advised Funds are a trendy way for Silicon Valley executives to arrange charitable efforts and take advantage of immediate tax benefits, all while maintaining control of the money until they decide when and how to disperse it. 

    carnegie said:
    He’s done this each of the last 3 years just before his 560,000 shares vested on August 24th.
    This is another reason I strongly suspect the donations are being put into a Donor-Advised Fund. I'm sure you're familiar with them but for others here who are not here's how it works.

    "Let’s say you’d like to contribute $10,000 in cash to charity this year, which would generally make you eligible for a $10,000 income tax deduction. But if you have $10,000 in stock that you donate instead, you’ll still be eligible to claim the same income tax deduction, plus you’ll also be eligible to eliminate any capital gains tax on the difference between the price of the stock when you bought it and when you donated it.

    Sometimes, your most appreciated assets (Apple stock for example)—generally the best ones to donate because they offer the greatest potential tax benefits—are also the ones you may wish to continue to hold in your portfolio. Fortunately, nothing prevents donors from purchasing (or being vested with) new shares of stock to replace the donated shares. In the example above, you could use the $10,000 cash you were planning to donate initially to purchase the stock again.

    Not only does this strategy allow you to continue to invest in a desirable asset, it can help you with long-term tax efficiency. If the stock continues to increase in value, thanks to the higher basis, you’ll owe less on your future taxes if you decide to sell it. And if the price sinks, it’s more likely that you will be able to harvest a capital loss to offset any realized capital gains."

    edited August 2020 jony0
  • Reply 14 of 16
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,605member
    zoutTafel said:
    Celebrating his first billion by giving away all of 0,5% of it.  And the fun thing is: people think it is generous.
    Some ultra-rich aren't the giving types at all, so Tim Cook sharing even a little bit of his is a plus. $5Million is $5Million no matter where it comes from. 
    mike1fastasleepjony0
  • Reply 15 of 16
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,412member
    zoutTafel said:
    Celebrating his first billion by giving away all of 0,5% of it.  And the fun thing is: people think it is generous.

    Another first-post troll.
    Just curious how much of your first billion would you give away? Do you enjoy telling others what to do with their money?
    jony0
  • Reply 16 of 16
    fred1 said:
    I agree that it's wonderful that he gives money to charity and of course he's free to do what he wants with his own money, but I do wonder why he doesn't want to disclose the name of the charity.  His call, of course, but seems odd.
    He is legally required to disclose to the SEC when he gives up or sells shares.  He isn't required to identify the recipient.  I don't know about you, but when the government gives me an option to provide additional, nonrequired information, I decline.

    This wasn't a press release; it was a government filing.
    jony0
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