Apple has not yet finalised what it will payJohn Ternusas its next chief executive, but the compensation gap between the incoming CEO and the man he is replacing is already clear from public filings.

Ternus, 50, was named Tim Cook's successor on Monday, effective 1 September 2026. Cook, 65, will move into a newly created executive chairman role. Apple's board backed the change with a unanimous vote,Applesaid in a statement.

A regulatory filing submitted on Monday indicated Apple would disclose Ternus's CEO pay package within four business days,Fortunereported. Until then, the only benchmark is what Apple pays its other senior vice presidents and what it paid Cook.

Ternus was not among the executives whose pay Apple disclosed in its latest proxy. The company's standard package for senior vice presidents runs to roughly $27 million (£20.4 million) a year—a $1 million (£756,000) base salary, a $20 million (£15.1 million) target equity grant, and a cash bonus set at 200 per cent of base pay.

Chief operating officer Sabih Khan and general counsel Kate Adams each earned in that range for fiscal 2025.

Cook's total pay for fiscal 2025 reached $74.3 million (£56.2 million), Apple's proxy statement showed. The figure edged down slightly from $74.6 million (£56.4 million) in 2024 but marked a jump from $63.2 million (£47.8 million) in 2023.

Stock awards made up the largest slice at $57.5 million (£43.5 million). He received $12 million (£9.1 million) in performance-linked cash incentives and a $3 million (£2.3 million) base salary that has stayed flat since 2016. The remainder covered security expenses, private air travel, and retirement plan contributions,CNBCreported.

Put differently, Cook's equity awards alone outstripped the total compensation of any individual SVP at Apple. If Ternus earned in the $25 million to $27 million (£18.9 million to £20.4 million) band as hardware chief, Cook was taking home roughly three times that amount.

Their respective fortunes reflect the same disparity. Forbes valued Cook's personal wealth at approximately $2.5 billion (£1.9 billion) as of October 2025, largely driven by stock accumulated over 28 years at the company.

Ternus's net worthis estimated at around $75 million (£56.7 million), according toCelebrity Net Worth, a figure built across more than two decades of equity grants and salary.

Source: International Business Times UK