Apple boss Tim Cook 'to donate millions' to charity

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Apple CEO Tim Cook as he speaks to members of the media at an Apple press event in San Francisco, California 13 March 2015Image source, AFP/getty images
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Tim Cook, the latest company boss to pledge give away his fortune to charity

The chief executive of Apple, Tim Cook, has announced he is donating most of his wealth to charity before he dies.

The head of the world's most profitable company is worth over $800m (£537m).

Mr Cook told Fortune Magazine that he would leave his wealth to philanthropic causes but not before paying for his 10-year-old nephew's college education.

He joins a growing number of the world's super-rich who are giving away their wealth, including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Five years ago, billionaire investor Warren Buffett and Microsoft founder Bill Gates launched the campaign The Giving Pledge.

It aims to convince billionaires to give at least half of their fortunes to charity. Mr Zuckerberg and over 100 others have so far signed up to the "moral commitment".

Mr Cook's base salary went up by 43% in February 2014, rising to $9.2m (£6.2m) a year.

According to Fortune Magazine, he holds $120m (£81m) worth of Apple shares and a further $665m (£447m) of restricted stocks.

A US university education costs an estimated $30,000 (£20,000) a year on average. Some private universities cost more than $50,000 a year.

Harvard, one of the most prestigious colleges in the country, charges $43,938 per year in tuition alone for students not receiving financial aid. That rises to $58,607 with room and board, according to its website.