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From what I can tell (and according to this article), he's the one who also recommended this: https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/12/23552711/apple-ceo-tim-cook-pay

From what I can tell (and according to this article), he's the one who also recommended this: https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/12/23552711/apple-ceo-tim-cook-pay-cut-2023 https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/12/23552711/apple-ceo-tim-co... ) Given that he's pledged to give away his money before death, I don't think he's super concerned about it. https://www.forbes.com/sites/howardhusock/2015/03/29/tim-cooks-800-million-giving-pledge-why-its-so-important/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/howardhusock/2015/03/29/tim-coo...

vasco 4y ago
> Given that he's pledged to give away his money before death He probably is, but it always surprises me that billionaires think they know when they will die.
- lotsofpulp 4y ago
  It seems reasonable to interpret “giving away one’s wealth before dying” to mean that they have a goal to not pass on a significant portion of their wealth to heirs, but rather donate it prior to succumbing to old age. Obviously, it is what it is if one were to die unexpectedly, but that is an obvious caveat that does not need a disclaimer.
  - vasco 4y ago
    If it's so obvious maybe it should be obvious that my comment pertains to the fact that if you want to give away your money, give it away. If you're telling people you're giving it away in the future you're just trying to live your whole life getting accolades without actually doing the thing you get accolades for. And then you might even die and not have done it.
    - lotsofpulp 4y ago
      > If you're telling people you're giving it away in the future you're just trying to live your whole life getting accolades without actually doing the thing you get accolades for. Another possibility is they are encouraging others to make the same commitment.
      - vasco 4y ago
        What is more powerful? > JUST IN: CEO of biggest company in the world donates 90% of their wealth. Articles for years about how they did it. > CEO of biggest company in the world joins many others in promising giving away most of their money but not doing it. Mind you, I have nothing against rich people and crazy spending. Just don't pretend like you're so magnanimous if you're not actually doing it.
        sokoloff 4y ago
        In our world? The second. My prediction is the donation from the Patagonia founder (whose name I have already forgotten) will be written about fewer than 10 times in significant distribution in the two decades from 2025 to 2044. Whereas the giving pledge type of billionaires will be written about more than annually on a per capita basis. It's the same reason I think that politicians are reluctant to quickly deliver on their promises. Because those promises represent pain points which represent the power to get them (and their party) elected in the next election as well. That power goes away if the pain point is solved.
    - llampx 4y ago
      Then you're not a billionaire anymore, you're just some guy.
    - rlpb 4y ago
      Keeping the money isn't necessary as unphilanthropic as you seem to imply. Wealth doesn't typically sit under the mattress doing nothing. While the person is alive, they can control how that wealth is invested, and do good that way. Giving it away while still alive would take it out of their control, and perhaps they think that keeping control will do better from a philanthropic perspective.
      - vasco 4y ago
        That is not the argument. People can keep their money all they want. The annoyance is with trying to get accolades for something they haven't done. It's like me going around saying how in 5 years I'll quit my job and become a pauper that dedicates their life to volunteering.
    - xwdv 4y ago
      The alternative is you could give it away early, get some recognition for a bit, and then after a year or two people have forgotten or don’t give a shit and you have nothing.
      - tchaffee 4y ago
        Another alternative is to give it away quietly on a regular basis and not seek recognition. Which is what Cook has been doing.
    - tchaffee 4y ago
      How would you give away that much money so it has a lasting impact? Lump sum would be risky. You would diversify and do it over time. And he is indeed giving it away. Just quietly. MacRumors reveals that Cook last week donated 10,715 shares to an undisclosed charity. As of the date of the transaction, August 20, 2020 that would put their value at a little over $5M. The gain in value since then means that the shares were worth almost $5.4M as of yesterday’s close. Cook revealed in 2015 that he plans to give away all of his wealth during his lifetime. Cook says that he has already begun donating money quietly, but that he plans to take time to develop a systematic approach to philanthropy rather than simply writing checks. He regularly donates AAPL shares to undisclosed charities.
swader999 4y ago
Nobody's taking anything with them, that's for sure. If he really wants to impress, go on a UBI wage right now.
- CubsFan1060 4y ago
  How is that impressive? Right now he has the potential to earn, and invest, 10's of millions of dollars that he can give away. Probably even make a self-sustaining endowment that can benefit people for many many years.
  - xienze 4y ago
    > Right now he has the potential to earn, and invest, 10's of millions of dollars that he can give away. Why can't that be done by whatever organization he gives it all away to?
    - hbrn 4y ago
      Because those organizations are inherently way less effective at handling funds?
      - tchaffee 4y ago
        Or just as effective. The Ford Foundation was founded in 1936 and is now worth $16 billion. The Rockefeller Foundation was started in 1913. By the end of 2016, assets were tallied at $4.1 billion with annual grants of $173 million.
toastercat 4y ago
Honest question: I've seen a lot of billionaires make a similar pledge. Are there any dead billionaires we can see as examples of keeping good on a pledge like this?
- burkaman 4y ago
  Chuck Feeney is the only one I've ever heard of. Note though that he is still alive and famously did not make a public pledge, but tried to give everything away anonymously. The type of person that would make a public pledge does not seem like the type of person who will actually give all their money away.
  - thundergolfer 4y ago
    The people that are most famous for pledging to give it all away — Gates, Buffet — are far far richer than they were when the hoi polloi started reading public relations articles about their philanthropic pledge. Amazing PR scam.
    - burkaman 4y ago
      Yeah, just scan through the list of names on The Giving Pledge Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giving_Pledge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giving_Pledge), which helpfully lists their net wealth so you can see their failure at a glance. Also note that the pledge is only to give away "at least half" which is pretty unambitious for a multi-billionaire. If you have $10 billion and give away $5 billion, you've made no impact on your own life and sacrificed nothing. It is not comparable to someone with $100,000 giving away $50,000.
    - poulsbohemian 4y ago
      Well... that's part of the irony really, in that when you are as rich as Crassus, it's actually work to try to divest it. What seems to really happen is that money moves from the family to a separate foundation, and then the foundation has the work in perpetuity of managing and granting out the money. With that much money, families really are set up through the end of time, assuming they have any degree of management and responsibility over the bit they don't put into a foundation.
hgsgm 4y ago
"pledge" means nothing. It's the word you use when you want credit for something you haven't done. He hadn't even done anything as simple as put the money in a Donor Advised Fund or foundation.
michaelcampbell 4y ago
> Given that he's pledged to give away his money before death, Everyone does that, pledge or no.

vasco 4y ago

> Given that he's pledged to give away his money before death He probably is, but it always surprises me that billionaires think they know when they will die.

lotsofpulp 4y ago
It seems reasonable to interpret “giving away one’s wealth before dying” to mean that they have a goal to not pass on a significant portion of their wealth to heirs, but rather donate it prior to succumbing to old age. Obviously, it is what it is if one were to die unexpectedly, but that is an obvious caveat that does not need a disclaimer.
- vasco 4y ago
  If it's so obvious maybe it should be obvious that my comment pertains to the fact that if you want to give away your money, give it away. If you're telling people you're giving it away in the future you're just trying to live your whole life getting accolades without actually doing the thing you get accolades for. And then you might even die and not have done it.
  - lotsofpulp 4y ago
    > If you're telling people you're giving it away in the future you're just trying to live your whole life getting accolades without actually doing the thing you get accolades for. Another possibility is they are encouraging others to make the same commitment.
    - vasco 4y ago
      What is more powerful? > JUST IN: CEO of biggest company in the world donates 90% of their wealth. Articles for years about how they did it. > CEO of biggest company in the world joins many others in promising giving away most of their money but not doing it. Mind you, I have nothing against rich people and crazy spending. Just don't pretend like you're so magnanimous if you're not actually doing it.
      - sokoloff 4y ago
        In our world? The second. My prediction is the donation from the Patagonia founder (whose name I have already forgotten) will be written about fewer than 10 times in significant distribution in the two decades from 2025 to 2044. Whereas the giving pledge type of billionaires will be written about more than annually on a per capita basis. It's the same reason I think that politicians are reluctant to quickly deliver on their promises. Because those promises represent pain points which represent the power to get them (and their party) elected in the next election as well. That power goes away if the pain point is solved.
  - llampx 4y ago
    Then you're not a billionaire anymore, you're just some guy.
  - rlpb 4y ago
    Keeping the money isn't necessary as unphilanthropic as you seem to imply. Wealth doesn't typically sit under the mattress doing nothing. While the person is alive, they can control how that wealth is invested, and do good that way. Giving it away while still alive would take it out of their control, and perhaps they think that keeping control will do better from a philanthropic perspective.
    - vasco 4y ago
      That is not the argument. People can keep their money all they want. The annoyance is with trying to get accolades for something they haven't done. It's like me going around saying how in 5 years I'll quit my job and become a pauper that dedicates their life to volunteering.
  - xwdv 4y ago
    The alternative is you could give it away early, get some recognition for a bit, and then after a year or two people have forgotten or don’t give a shit and you have nothing.
    - tchaffee 4y ago
      Another alternative is to give it away quietly on a regular basis and not seek recognition. Which is what Cook has been doing.
  - tchaffee 4y ago
    How would you give away that much money so it has a lasting impact? Lump sum would be risky. You would diversify and do it over time. And he is indeed giving it away. Just quietly. MacRumors reveals that Cook last week donated 10,715 shares to an undisclosed charity. As of the date of the transaction, August 20, 2020 that would put their value at a little over $5M. The gain in value since then means that the shares were worth almost $5.4M as of yesterday’s close. Cook revealed in 2015 that he plans to give away all of his wealth during his lifetime. Cook says that he has already begun donating money quietly, but that he plans to take time to develop a systematic approach to philanthropy rather than simply writing checks. He regularly donates AAPL shares to undisclosed charities.

swader999 4y ago

Nobody's taking anything with them, that's for sure. If he really wants to impress, go on a UBI wage right now.

CubsFan1060 4y ago
How is that impressive? Right now he has the potential to earn, and invest, 10's of millions of dollars that he can give away. Probably even make a self-sustaining endowment that can benefit people for many many years.
- xienze 4y ago
  > Right now he has the potential to earn, and invest, 10's of millions of dollars that he can give away. Why can't that be done by whatever organization he gives it all away to?
  - hbrn 4y ago
    Because those organizations are inherently way less effective at handling funds?
    - tchaffee 4y ago
      Or just as effective. The Ford Foundation was founded in 1936 and is now worth $16 billion. The Rockefeller Foundation was started in 1913. By the end of 2016, assets were tallied at $4.1 billion with annual grants of $173 million.

toastercat 4y ago

Honest question: I've seen a lot of billionaires make a similar pledge. Are there any dead billionaires we can see as examples of keeping good on a pledge like this?

burkaman 4y ago
Chuck Feeney is the only one I've ever heard of. Note though that he is still alive and famously did not make a public pledge, but tried to give everything away anonymously. The type of person that would make a public pledge does not seem like the type of person who will actually give all their money away.
- thundergolfer 4y ago
  The people that are most famous for pledging to give it all away — Gates, Buffet — are far far richer than they were when the hoi polloi started reading public relations articles about their philanthropic pledge. Amazing PR scam.
  - burkaman 4y ago
    Yeah, just scan through the list of names on The Giving Pledge Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giving_Pledge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giving_Pledge), which helpfully lists their net wealth so you can see their failure at a glance. Also note that the pledge is only to give away "at least half" which is pretty unambitious for a multi-billionaire. If you have $10 billion and give away $5 billion, you've made no impact on your own life and sacrificed nothing. It is not comparable to someone with $100,000 giving away $50,000.
  - poulsbohemian 4y ago
    Well... that's part of the irony really, in that when you are as rich as Crassus, it's actually work to try to divest it. What seems to really happen is that money moves from the family to a separate foundation, and then the foundation has the work in perpetuity of managing and granting out the money. With that much money, families really are set up through the end of time, assuming they have any degree of management and responsibility over the bit they don't put into a foundation.

hgsgm 4y ago

"pledge" means nothing. It's the word you use when you want credit for something you haven't done. He hadn't even done anything as simple as put the money in a Donor Advised Fund or foundation.

michaelcampbell 4y ago

> Given that he's pledged to give away his money before death, Everyone does that, pledge or no.