Apple's billionaire CEO Tim Cook to receive last 5 million shares worth $750 MILLION this week in final payout of 2011 deal after making the $2.5 trillion company the most valuable in the world

Apple CEO Tim Cook is set to receive his tenth and final payout this week in the  stock grant of his 2011 contract, earning him a total of $750 million in company stock.

After taking over the job 10 years ago from Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, Cook, 60, has made himself, Apple shareholders and the company extremely wealthy.

The Apple executive, whose net worth sits around $1.5 billion, was initially considered an odd choice to replace Jobs at the time he stepped down. Cook did not match his predecessor's long-reaching notoriety and star power.  

However, the company has thrived under Cook's leadership, with stock prices spiking and revenue doubling. Apple shares have returned over 1,100 percent, making for a market value $2.45 trillion. It is the most valuable company in the world, The Economist reports.

This last payout of roughly 5 million shares, which equates to about $750 million, is the result of Cook meeting a quota by surpassing at least two-thirds of the companies on the S&P 500 list over the last three years, according to Bloomberg News. 

The massive stock grant is his second since 2011, having earned $281 million worth of vested Apple shares, scheduled to be paid out between 2023 and 2025, along with a $14.8 million salary last year. His annual salary for 2021 has not been revealed.

Cook began receiving payouts for the 5 million shares in 2014 and again in 2016 before this week's final payout.

In total, Cook, who is entering the last year of his ten-year contract, now owns 837,374 shares of Apple stock, representing 0.02 percent of all outstanding shares.

Apple CEO Tim Cook (pictured left) will receive his tenth and final payout under his current deal, which is 5 million shares worth nearly $750 million.  He took over from Steve Jobs (pictured right) 10 years ago

Meanwhile, company shares have increased about 12 percent this year alone.

Since the start of Cook's tenure as CEO in August 2011, stock prices for Apple have gone from just under $80 per share in 2011 to nearly $320 per share in early 2021.

And the future looks just as bright for Apple, which will be run by Cook for at least another five years, according to The Economist.

Marketwatch reports that the company is currently poised to turn its advertising into a $20 billion business, an aspect of Apple that Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani called 'underappreciated.'

Apple's advertising business could potentially reach upwards of $20 billion in revenue by 2025, compared to $2 billion it currently earns, he told the outlet.

The company's revenue is forecast to increase to $425.7 billion in 2025. That figure stood at $274.52 billion last year.

Apple was started by Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976, going public four years later in 1980.

Since the start of Cook's tenure as chief executive officer back in August 2011, stock prices for Apple have gone from just under $80 per share in 2011 to nearly $320 per share in early 2021

Apple stock cost a mere $22 dollars per share at the time the company went public on December 12, 1980. In comparison, the company opened at $148.25 per share on Thursday

Apple stock cost a mere $22 dollars per share at the time the company went public on December 12, 1980. In comparison, it opened at $148.25 per share on Thursday.

As for Cook, the Apple executive revealed plans for his fortunes in 2015, saying he will be giving most of it away, having already donated thousands of his Apple shares.

While he has remained coy about retirement, Cook told the New York Times in April that he will likely step down as Apple's CEO sometime within the next ten years.

'But I can tell you that I feel great right now,' he said. 'And the date’s not in sight. But 10 more years is a long time and probably not 10 more years.'

'And so I don’t think I will know that until after I’m not here,' Cook said. 'Because I think I’ll run so fast that I’ll never really think about it until I’m not running anymore.'

Meanwhile, Apple is preparing for the release of the iPhone 13, which is set to hit store shelves in September, according to Tech Radar.