Apple CEO Tim Cook to take home $4.17M in 2012

Apple chief executive Tim Cook received an increase in his salary this year, according to a regulatory filing. The CEO took home $1.4 million in comparison to 2011’s $900,000 salary, though he did not earn any new stock given the huge package awarded to him last year.

In August 2011, Cook was awarded his base salary, but he also received one million restricted stock units — then worth a whopping $378 million. The shares, however, aren’t yet Cook’s to own. Half of them will fully vest in August 2016, five years after their award date, and the rest will vest on Aug. 24, 2021.

“In light of the RSU award granted to Mr. Cook in connection with his promotion to CEO, the compensation committee did not grant Mr. Cook an RSU award in 2012,” the filing said.

Cook will take home $4.17 million in 2012 as made up of a base salary payout of $1.6 million plus cash from the employee incentive plan of $2.8 million. Apple says Cook was not present for discussions about his salary, though it did take into consideration his request to not earn dividends on restricted stock units he had not vested for. The total of those dividends would have been $75 million.

Cook otherwise proposed a new rule for Apple “nonemployee” directors and the chief executive that was reviewed and approved. It states that the chief executive must hold onto Apple common stock that is equal to ten times the salary of that CEO. All other directors must hold onto stock that equals five times the amount of their salaries.

hat tip Bloomberg; Tim Cook photo via Dean Takahashi/VentureBeat