There have been calls from Apple investors to oppose CEO Tim Cook’s $99 million payment last year.
The advisory, ISS Shareholder Services, said it had “deep concerns” regarding the amount, which rose from $14.8 billion a year earlier.
According to reports, Tim Cook’s fortune is close to one and a half billion dollars. The president of Apple receives his wages in the form of shares, a salary, and some other financial arrangement.
The BBC has contacted Apple for comment.
In a letter to shareholders, ISS Shareholder Services said it had “deep concerns” regarding the “vocabulary and scale” of pay, and found that “half of the evaluation lacked performance standards”.
Tim Cook often speaks out regarding his concerns regarding equality and human rights issues. He had announced in 2015 that he would donate all of his wealth before his death.
According to ISS, Tim Cook’s salary is equal to the wages of 1,447 ordinary Apple employees.
Cook’s wages included $630,600 in personal insurance costs, and $712,500 in personal use costs for a private jet.
In the opinion of ISS, the costs of such benefits are “significantly higher” than was the case in similar companies for the past year.
A US Securities and Exchange Commission document last year showed that Tim Cook directed more than $10 million – the value of Apple shares – to charitable causes, without naming the grantees.
Apple, which includes the iPhone, iPad and MacBook companies, became the first company to record $3 trillion in stock market value in January, before that value plummeted to $2.8 trillion now.
Shareholders have returned more than 1,000 percent since Tim Cook took over as Apple president in 2011.
Apple is scheduled to hold its annual meeting of shareholders during the first week of March. However, the shareholder vote is an advisory matter, as the decision on the remuneration items rests with the company’s board of directors.
At last year’s meeting, 95 percent of shareholders voted to support Apple’s CEO compensation program.
a growing opposition
Companies in the United States and the United Kingdom are facing growing opposition from shareholders in issues related to pay and compensation.
General Electric, IBM and Starbucks failed to secure majority shareholder support for CEO pay in 2021.
US President Joe Biden, along with Democratic senators, is calling for tax increases for billionaires and big corporations in order to free up regarding $16 billion to support spending on social services.
