Apple CEO Tim Cook Boasts of Philanthropic Efforts

Apple's current CEO Tim Cook and his creative predecessor Steve Jobs are in stark contrast in terms of philanthropy.

In the company's recent internal town hall meeting, Cook spent quite a bit of time talking about the company's philanthropic efforts, according to the Verge, citing the anonymous sources.

Cook said that the company has donated $50 million to Stanford's hospitals. More specifically, $25 million is for a new main building, whereas the other $25 million for a new children's hospital.

Apple has also become the leading contributor to Product RED, a program aimed at AIDS education and research. And Cook said he's proud of the company, which has given more than $50 million to the effort since it began in 2006.

As early as last September, Cook had written an e-mail to the employees, saying the company would begin matching employee donations to nonprofits up to $10,000 annually.

However, in contrast to Cook, Jobs was never interested in philanthropy, even though he was one of the richest men in the world. Jobs had even told employees that giving away money was a waste of time, according to the newly released book Inside Apple. However, after Cook became the head of Apple, the situation has changed drastically.

The philanthropic efforts add further glory and respect to Apple, the world's most admired (and almost the most valuable) company. Apple's philanthropic side was revealed amidst mounting criticisms that the tech giant does not care about employee's welfare, especially those who work in its supplier or assembly chains in China. The New York Times published last week a lengthy report about the terrible working conditions in Foxconn, a major Apple product manufacturer.

As for philanthropy, though $150 million is a pocket change, compared to Apple's $97.6 billion cash reserve, at least, Apple has made a good start by showing that it cares about others as much as it cares about itself.