45 Facts About Tim Cook, CEO of World's Most Valuable Company

Tim Cook joined Apple in March 1998 as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations and was promoted as Chief Executive Office in August 2011, succeeding Steve Jobs. Here're 45 facts about him:

1. Tim Cook's full name is Timothy Donald "Tim" Cook.
2. He is from Alabama, U.S.
3. Cook's father, Donald, was a shipyard worker.
4. His mother, Geraldine, worked at a pharmacy.
5. Cook joined Apple in March 1998 as Senior Vice President (SVP) of Worldwide Operations.
   
6. He was made CEO of the Apple in August 2011 and succeeded Steve Jobs.
7. In early 2012, Apple's Board of Directors awarded compensation of one million shares.
8. Cook is also on the board of directors for Nike.
9. He also serves on the board of National Football Foundation.
10. Cook is the first CEO of a Fortune 500 company to publicly identify as gay.
    
11. In an editorial for Bloomberg Businessweek, he stated: "I'm proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me."
12. Cook's net worth is US $785 million.
13. In 2014, Cook's salary was US $9.22 million.
14. Cook has a B.S. from Auburn University and an M.B.A. from Duke University.
15. Recently, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from George Washington University.
    
16. Cook has also spent 12 years in IBM's personal computer business.
17. After IBM, Cook joined Intelligent Electronics as their chief operating officer of the Reseller Division.
18. He was Vice President for Corporate Materials at Compaq for six months.
19. Cook was asked to join Apple by Steve Jobs in 1998.
20. In 2004, he was made the head of Macintosh hardware engineering team.
    
21. Recently, he admitted that he decided to join Apple after meeting Jobs for the first time.
22. Time has included Tim in the "100 Most Influential People in the World" list (in April 2012).
23. Cook attended a closed-door summit held by President Obama in August, 2013, in regard to government surveillance.
24. Cook in Feb, 2014, made news for asking shareholders to "get out of the stock" if they didn't share the company's views on sustainability and climate change.
25. Cook starts his day at 4:30 am everyday.
    
26. He is a fitness enthusiast and enjoys physical activities like hiking, and cycling.
27. Cook is known for being mostly solitary and wants to achieve "a basic level of privacy."
28. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1996.
29. He said, the incident made him "see the world in a different way."
    
30. Since, he has taken part in charity fundraising such as cycle races to raise money for the disease.
31. After taking the post, Cook has increased Apple's donations to charity.
32. In 2013, he hired Lisa Jackson, formerly the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, to assist Apple with the development of its renewable energy activities.
33. In 2009, Cook offered a portion of his liver to Jobs, but Jobs responded yelling, "I'll never let you do that. I'll never do that."
34. In October 2014, the Alabama Academy of Honor inducted Cook - the highest honor Alabama gives its citizens.
35. Cook has Apple Stock worth about $120 million.
36. Cook has announced that he will donate his fortune to charity.
37. Cook's first job was delivering newspapers as a teenager.
38. He also worked with his mom at a local pharmacy.
39. Cook was a a solid B-plus or A-minus student," and he wanted to be an engineer.
40. Cook's parents never used computers and he called his mother every week, even he was traveling around world.
41. Cook eats lunch with random employees in Apple cafeteria.
42. He lived in a rental for years without air conditioning.
43. Cook buys his underwear at Nordstrom's half-yearly sale. [Source]
44. He was awarded lifetime achievement award from his alma mater Auburn University.
45. In 2011, Forbes magazine called him one of the "World's Most Powerful People."