Tim Cook's Bonus: $5 Million Cash, $17 Million Stock. Filling in for Steve Jobs: Priceless

Apple chief operating officer Tim Cook stepped up and filled in for Steve Jobs during Jobs' leave of absence last year, and has been given a discretionary bonus of $5 million, along with 75,000 shares of Apple stock (currently worth just shy of $17 million), by way of thank you bonus.

Keeping Apple not only stable but thriving during the absence and then-uncertain future of their famous CEO, however, was no doubt invaluable to Apple and its shareholders.

Congrats to Tim Cook then. Don't spend it all on iPad pre-orders (though that would certainly explain the 91,000 units in the first 6 hours!)

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.