Apple chief Jobs' salary totaled mere $1 in 2007

Apple Inc Chief Executive Steve Jobs continued his tradition of taking home only $1 in salary in 2007, when he also gained $14.6 million on paper by exercising stock options that were about to expire, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Jobs has taken a $1 annual salary since returning to the Cupertino-based company in 1997 and has hoarded his shares of Apple stock since then, accumulating about 5.5 million, according to Apple's proxy report filed on Wednesday with the SEC.

The value of Jobs' stock has taken a beating over the past month, however, as investors have retreated from Apple shares amid fears of slowing consumer spending and a recession in the United States.

Since Apple released a disappointing second-quarter forecast after the close of trading on Tuesday, Apple shares have plunged almost 11 percent. That drop lopped $15 billion from the company's market value and trimmed the value of Jobs' stake by more than $90 million to a total of around $765 million.

Apple stocks closed down 11 percent, or $16.57, at $139.07 on Wednesday, climbing back from a more serious decline earlier in the day as technology stocks staged a late comeback.

Jobs did not pocket the profit from the 120,000 stock options he exercised in 2007, Apple said in the regulatory documents. The options - granted to Jobs for his service on Apple's board of directors - were set to expire in August 2007 so he exercised them and held on to all of the shares.

Agencies

(China Daily 01/25/2008 page16)