CEO Tim Cook is Apple’s chief lobbying asset

The White House.

Apple has consistently worked to appease the U.S. government, including lobbying lawmakers to try and get its way. The top of the food chain, CEO Tim Cook, has also been involved, and is one of the biggest lobbyists within the company.

A report from the Tech Transparency Project released on Tuesday attempts to detail how Tim Cook has become the head lobbyist for Apple. This includes how, a few weeks after the U.S. Department of Justice filed its antitrust lawsuit against Apple, Cook went to Washington.

Cook’s April visit was a stark contrast to the aggressive response to the lawsuit itself. The CEO is described as wearing a tuxedo to a state dinner for the Prime Minister of Japan visiting the White House.

The occasion allowed him to hobnob with various top-level officials from both the U.S. and Japan. This, the report insists, demonstrates how Cook conducts “face-to-face diplomacy” as he defuses threats to Apple.

Soft-spoken, Cook is described as standing out for his many interactions with officials versus other CEOs, and how he is central to Apple’s attempts to influence governments.

The article goes on to cover the many occasions Cook visited the White House, tried to influence Europe, and even how he personally worked on appeasing China.

The massive work by Apple to influence governments isn’t anything new. For a company of its sheer size, it’s been lobbying even before Cook stepped into the role of CEO.

As the chief of the company, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs wasn’t necessarily known for involving himself with the U.S. government. However, he still allowed serious sums of money to be spent.

Back in 2009, Apple spent $340,000 in the first quarter on lobbying, followed by $390,000 the next quarter, all for broadband and education funding efforts. In the entirety of 2009, Apple spent $1.5 million on lobbying in total.

According to a 2010 Politico article, this was far less than others, such as Google’s $4 million spend, Microsoft’s $7 million, and AT&T’s $15 million.

At the same time, a million dollars on lobbying is still a lot of money, regardless of a company’s scale.

Despite staying away from Washington as much as possible, by allowing the spending to be conducted by other people, Jobs permitted lobbying to help Apple grow.

As Apple continued to grow under Cook, the lobbying spend has increased. But even at its sheer size, it’s still spending a relatively low amount. Even at $9.9 million for all of 2023, Apple’s still outspent by Meta, Amazon, and Google.

This is where Cook’s approach steps in. Rather than throwing more money at lobbying, Cook decided that speaking to those in power and working with them was more effective than dollars.

Under this approach, Cook found he had a lot more power with lawmakers simply by meeting with them than burning through cash.

Throughout Cook’s tenure as CEO, he has kept close ties to whomever was in power in the White House.

In March, it was reported that Apple had visited the White House 87 times in the four years of President Joe Biden’s administration, including 11 visits from Cook himself. These visits included two of four state dinners, allowing him to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Donald Trump praised Cook for his communications

Cook’s decision to play nice with Biden wasn’t a party-specific thing. He famously spent a lot of time talking to former U.S. President Donald Trump, receiving compliments for his level of direct communication.

Trump called Cook a “great executive” for calling “whenever there’s a problem.” While others “go out and hire very expensive consultants,” Trump said in 2019, “he calls me and others don’t.”

It’s not just the United States that Cook has to worry about. His hands-on approach has led to him visiting governments around the globe.

Cook has certainly learned the value of providing his attention, and it is a power that he is likely to continue using through his tenure at the top of Apple.