Most people don’t make enough to retire until they are in their 60s or 70s. It sounds like we are paying these guys too much if we have to compete for attention with their massive fortune.
Either way, two entities came to a voluntary agreement on an exchange of services and compensation. I have not heard of a better model yet.
If the issue is income/wealth gaps in society, then that is better solved by implementing huge marginal income/wealth taxes such that the can be rewarded hundreds of millions of dollars, but they will only end up with a small portion of it.
~100 million/year says he isn't.
It all comes down to how you define "useful work" and value. A big part Tim Cooks value is simply being a known factor. You might not like that this is valued more than 1,000 engineers, but that doesn't change the reality of the situation.
He's just not that unique. The employees should be paid more and Tim should be paid less.
His value is being Tim Cook: Apple CEO since 2011. This is something that nobody else on the planet has and 1,000 engineers can't build.
The problem is, frequently everyone else doesn't get to play a second game.