$AAPL is paying one man $47mn a year to talk to governments. Let that sink in.

Cook is no longer CEO. He's executive chair now. And his pay is $47mn, while Ternus, the actual CEO running the company, gets $58mn.

So the guy who left the job earns 80% of the guy doing the job.

Now here's the number that made me stop.

Arthur Levinson was Apple's board chair for years. His pay last year? $557,231.

Cook is getting about 84 times that. For a board role.

People spent last week arguing whether his new job was real or just a polite way to retire. Apple answered it in the filing. Nobody pays 84x for a ceremonial chair.

And what is he being paid for? Dealing with Washington, Beijing, Brussels. That's it. Not products. Politics.

Which means $AAPL thinks government risk is nearly as expensive as running a $4.75tn company.

Honestly I'm not sure how to feel about it. Either political risk really is that dangerous now, or a board just handed its outgoing CEO a very generous goodbye and called it a job.

The market didnt seem bothered either way. Stock closed up 2.5%.