Steve Jobs, the buck-a-year high-tech star, is again taking a rock-bottom annual salary from Apple Inc., according to its annual proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Apple CEO, who drew a $1 salary in 2006 as he did in 2004 and 2005, received most of his compensation through an equity grant and did not receive a bonus, the Cupertino company said in the filing.
A 2003 stock grant of 10 million split-adjusted restricted shares of the company's common stock fully vested in March 2006, giving him Apple stock now worth nearly $1 billion. Jobs did not receive a new grant in 2006.
Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer racked up $56 million in exercised options in 2006 in addition to a $615,000 salary, a $450,000 bonus and restricted stock valued at $14 million.
Chief Operating Officer Timothy Cook received restricted stock valued at $22 million, a salary of $697,000 and a $525,000 bonus in 2006.
Jobs, who transformed Apple from a struggling hardwaremaker into a purveyor of such must-have digital gadgets as the iPod, occupies a unique perch in the high-tech world: He personally embodies much of Apple's market value. With the announcement of the iPhone, coming out in June, Jobs again proved his worth. Shares of Apple rose nearly 29 percent in 2006.
Also in the proxy statement: Apple received six shareholder proposals, including one from the AFL-CIO Reserve Fund requesting that Apple's board permit shareholders to vote annually on executive compensation.
Two shareholder groups would change how stock-option prices are determined for senior Apple executives in an effort to avoid any potential for backdating. New York's Amalgamated Bank LongView Collective Investment Fund and the Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds, of Hartford, Conn., want any options granted to senior Apple executives to be doled out at an exercise price that is equal to the average opening and closing prices of Apple stock on the day the options are granted. The shareholders also want grant dates disclosed in advance. Apple opposes the proposal, saying it hasn't granted any options to senior management since 2003.
In December, Apple said it would restate its financial results from 2003 to 2006 and it would take an $84 million charge to account for the improper backdating of 6,400 options granted between 1997 and 2001.
Shareholders are concerned that the backdating scandal could touch Jobs, who has met with federal regulators and prosecutors. Federal authorities are weighing whether to bring charges against former or current Apple executives.
In its internal investigation, Apple found that no current member of the management team engaged in any intentional wrongdoing. The investigation also found that Jobs was aware of the practice but did not personally benefit from it.
Apple's shareholder meeting is May 10.
