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Apple Chief Tim Cook Gives $6.5M to Charity

Apple chief Tim Cook, who came out as a gay man in October, has increasingly made philanthropy and social justice a mission. Now it's clear that Cook has placed his money where his ideals are by donating more than $6.56 million to an undisclosed charity, according to reports.

The news came in a U.S. Securities and Exchange document, stating that Cook transferred 50,000 shares of his stock to an unnamed organization, but is likely a charity, Apple Insider reported.

This is not the first time Cook's philanthropist side has been discussed in the media. 

At a commencement speech at George Washington University recently, he told graduates, "Don't shrink from risk, and tune out those critics and cynics," he said. "History rarely yields to one person. But think, and never forget, what happens when it does. That can be you. That should be you. That must be you."

Cook's views and message differ from the Apple era of Steve Jobs, who didn't encourage corporate philanthropy or outside politics.

Cook, who hails from Alabama, also gave an undisclosed amount of money to the Human Rights Campaign's Project One America, a campaign to ensure gay rights the politically and socially conservative states of Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas in December, Reuters reported. The group has a $8.5 million, three-year budget, with campaigns in all three states.

"We hope Tim Cook's substantial personal investment inspires others to support this vital and historic project,"  Jason Rahlan, spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, told Reuters.
 
Apple confirmed Cook's donation but declined to comment further because it was a personal, and private, contribution. In December, Cook also lent his name to an LGBT anti-discrimination bill in his native Alabama, so perhaps that decision galvanized the Apple chief executive to become more politically active and fight for gay rights.
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