apples(AAPL.US) is at the top of the market capitalization ranking of the S&P 500 index, but its CEO Tim Cook's direct compensation from the company ranked 171st in the S&P 500 CEO (CEO) pay ranking, far lower than many other company CEOs on the list.

According to reports, after analyzing the salary data of 416 CEOs from the 500 companies on the list, Cook's total salary in 2020 was 14,769,259 US dollars. Although Cook's salary seemed high, up 28% from 2019, it only placed him 171st on the list.

Many CEOs, including Cook, are shareholders in the companies they lead, and their wages only make up a fraction of their total income.

According to data, Cook's salary in 2019 was 133.7 million US dollars. Although his starting salary that year was $3 million, with a bonus of 7.7 million dollars and an additional allowance of 884,000 dollars, he also received a stock reward of 122.2 million US dollars. Stock earnings like these mean that Cook and other CEOs can earn far more than their salaries. As far as Cook is concerned, his personal net worth surpassed $1 billion in August 2020.