Apple CEO Tim Cook (Photo : REUTERS)
Apple Inc. (AAPL.O) Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook wishes to join the list of very wealthy businessmen who are giving away their fortune.
According to Reuters, Cook is planning to give away his estimated fortune of $785 million to charity, after paying his nephew's college education.
"You want to be the pebble in the pond that creates the ripples for change," Cook explained.
Cook is one of those successful billionaire technical executives who like to share their wealth to others. Just like Bill Gates, one of the most known philanthropist in the group, together with Melinda, his wife, has given away $30.2 billion or 37 percent of his net worth.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also given away $1.5 billion or four percent of his net worth. Other executives like eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Intel co-founder Gordon Moore are recognized to have given away their fortunes to help others.
Since Cook became Apple's CEO in 2011, he has shown a big difference from his predecessor, Steve Jobs when it comes on charitable giving. Jobs was not known for being a philanthropist and had also disagreed with giving away money, CNET reported.
Cook is not yet technically a billionaire. He is a wealthy man with a base salary of $1.75 million as Apple's CEO. His net worth is around $120 million considering his Apple stocks. His restricted stock holdings when vested through fully will be worth about $665 million.
Cook's generosity is seen through the hefty discounts given to Apple employees when they buy Apple products. He is also known to have donated $50 million to disease prevention charity Product RED in 2012, and another $50 million to Stanford's hospitals.
