<p>Tim Cook has finally made it to the top at Apple Inc, but in his first full year as CEO his pay package shrank about 99 percent.</p><br /><p>Cook, the successor to the late Steve Jobs, was awarded total compensation of $4.17 million (USD) in 2012, down from $378 million in 2011, Apple said in a federal filing on Thursday (December 27).</p><br /><p>The 2012 compensation package for Cook, who took over as chief executive in August 2011, also seemed a pittance compared with his 2010 pay, which was 14 times higher, when the executive served as chief operating officer.</p><br /><p>Jobs, the iconic CEO and co-founder, died in October 2011 of pancreatic cancer.</p><br /><p>The maker of the iPhone and iPad noted that Cook will not receive any stock awards for 2012 after he was given about $376.2 million in stock awards the year before. The stock awards vest over many years.</p><br /><p>The 2012 package includes a salary of $1.4 million and a nonequity bonus of $2.8 million, according to the filing. Cook's base salary actually increased compared with the $900,000 he earned in 2011.</p><br /><p>While Apple's shares are 35 percent higher than when Cook assumed the CEO role, they have lost a quarter of their value since they hit a life high of $705.07 on September 21, as the company faces increasing competition from phones using Google Inc's Android operating system.</p><br /><p>Apple shares were down 0.6 percent at $509.85 on the Nasdaq late on Thursday morning.</p><br /><p>-Reuters</p>
