Apple retail boss Angela Ahrendts earned a whopping $25.8m in 2015 - more than DOUBLE the $10.3m Tim Cook took home

  • Cook's base pay increased about 14.4 percent to $2 million last year
  • CFO Luca Maestri's compensation rose 81 percent to $25.3 million in 2015

By MARK PRIGG FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

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Angela Ahrendts, Apple's 55 year old senior vice president for retail and online stores, was the highest paid executive at the technology giant last year, with a total pay package of $25.8 million, it has been revealed.

The former Burberry CEO's pay package includes a $1 million base salary, a $20 million stock grant, a $4 million bonus and relocation expenses of $474,981.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook's compensation rose 11.5 percent to $10.3 million in 2015, the company said on Wednesday, a year when its sales grew 28 percent and profits by 35 percent but its shares fell for the first time since 2008. 

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Angela Ahrendts, the senior vice president for retail and online stores, was the highest paid, with a total pay package of $25.8 million.

Angela Ahrendts, the senior vice president for retail and online stores, was the highest paid, with a total pay package of $25.8 million.

In fact, Cook was the lowest-paid of the company's top executives.

Cook's base pay increased about 14.4 percent to $2 million last year, while non-equity incentive compensation rose about 19 percent to $8 million, according to a regulatory filing.

Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri's annual compensation rose about 81 percent to $25.3 million in 2015. 

Apple had a good year for the most part under Cook. 

Sales in China in the most recent quarter nearly doubled from the same quarter in the prior year, for instance, and the iPhone continued to see record sales.

The company hit a rough patch towards the end of 2015, with shares falling about 4.6 percent for the year, the stock's first negative year since the global credit crisis.

FROM INDIANA TO APPLE: ANGELA AHRENDTS RISE TO THE TOP

Ahrendts was born and raised in New Palestine, Indiana, the third of six children.

After earning an undergraduate degree in Merchandising and Marketing from Ball State University, she moved to New York, and workds for brands ranging from Donna Karan to Liz Claiborne.

In 2006, she moved to Burberry, and during her time there, the company value rose from £2 billion to over £7 billion.  

Angela Ahrendts, 54, was poached by the tech firm in May 2006 after eight years as Burberry's CEO, where she was the UK's highest-paid CEO with $26.3 million.

Apple's head of retail was paid more than $70 million in her first year with the company. 

In an SEC filing, Apple explained Ahrendts' paycheck by stressing her 'experience' and 'ability'.

'The recruitment of Ms Ahrendts provided an extraordinary addition to the Company's executive team with the experience and ability to lead both the retail and online businesses,' Apple wrote. 

'In determining her transition package, the Compensation Committee considered Ms Ahrendts' compensation arrangement at Burberry and the amounts that she was expected to receive in future years. 

'At the time, Ms Ahrendts was among the highest paid executives in the U.K. and held unvested Burberry equity awards with a value of approximately $37 million.'

As of Sept. 26, Cook held about 3.1 million Apple shares that have not vested, potentially enabling him to earn over $310 million based on the stock's Wednesday closing price.

The shares are expected to vest between August 2016 and August 2021.

Fortune magazine cited the head of the world's largest technology corporation as saying he planned to donate his estimated $785 million fortune to charity - after paying for his 10-year-old nephew's college education.

WHAT APPLE'S EXECS MADE IN 2015

Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri's annual compensation rose about 81 percent to $25.3 million in 2015. 

Internet software head Eddy Cue was awarded $25 million, which includes a $20 million stock award and a $4 million bonus. He was also given a vacation cash-out of $34,615.

Dan Riccio, SVP of hardware engineering, was also given a $1 million base salary and $20 million worth of stock last year, bringing his total compensation to $25 million.

Bruce Sewell, SVP general counsel and secretary made about $25 million.

'You want to be the pebble in the pond that creates the ripples for change,' Cook told the magazine.

Shares of the world's most valuable company dropped below $100 for the first time in nearly five months on Wednesday before regaining some ground to close at $100.70.

Shares in the world's most valuable company have fallen more than 15 percent over the last month, amid a drumbeat of news reports that some Asian parts suppliers are expecting Apple to trim orders for its signature smartphone this winter. 

Chief Executive Tim Cook's compensation rose 11.5 percent to $10.3 million in 2015

Chief Executive Tim Cook's compensation rose 11.5 percent to $10.3 million in 2015

Those fears were compounded Wednesday when the Wall Street Journal said one of Apple's most important contractors is sending some workers home on 'early holiday' before the Chinese New Year in February.

Even an upbeat report from Apple announcing that its online App Store set a sales record last week failed to boost the stock. 

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