Apple Chief Executive Tim . Cook is joining the roster of the very rich who are giving away . their wealth . The head of the world 's largest . technology corporation told Fortune magazine he plans to donate his . estimated $ 785million fortune to charity - after paying for his ten-year-old nephew 's college education . 'You want to be the pebble in the pond that creates the . ripples for change , ' Cook told the magazine . Scroll down for video . Philanthropic : Apple CEO Tim Cook plans to donate his estimated $ 785million fortune to charity , after he pays for his ten-year-old nephew 's college education . Fortune estimated Cook 's net worth , based on his holdings of . Apple stock , at about $ 120million . He also holds restricted . stock worth $ 665 million if it were to be fully vested . The 54-year-old CEO 's revelation in Fortune 's lengthy . profile of him is an example of the increasingly public . philanthropy of the world 's richest people . Billionaire financier Warren Buffett is encouraging the very . wealthy to give away at least half their worth in their . lifetimes through the 'Giving Pledge , ' whose website lists such . luminaries as Microsoft Corp 's Bill Gates , Mark . Zuckerberg of Facebook Inc and Oracle Corp 's . Larry Ellison . While Cook 's largesse could not begin to approach the scale . of a Gates or Zuckerberg - both worth billions of dollars - the . Apple CEO told Fortune he hopes to make a difference . CEO : Cook ( left ) took over as the head of Apple when Steve Jobs ( right ) resigned in 2011 . He is the only openly gay chief executive on the Fortune 500 list of biggest U.S. companies . Cook , who is not listed on the website , is known as an . intensely private person who shuns the spotlight on . philanthropy . In recent years , however , he has begun speaking out more . openly about issues ranging from the environment to civil . rights . Cook , who recently revealed he was gay , spoke out . against discrimination of the lesbian , gay , bisexual and . transsexual communities during his induction into the Alabama . Academy of Honor last year . He is the only openly gay chief executive on the Fortune 500 list of biggest U.S. companies , according to CNN . Former CEO of BP John Brown , who held the position from 1995 to 2007 , only acknowledged he was gay after leaving office when an ex-boyfriend outed him . Cook took over Apple 's CEO position in 2011 after Steve Jobs resigned . He told Fortune he has started donating money to unspecified . causes quietly and is trying to develop a more 'systematic . approach ' to philanthropy that goes beyond writing checks .
Cook has an estimated $ 785million fortune , with a net worth of $ 120million . He has started donating money to unspecified causes quietly and is trying to develop a more 'systematic approach ' to philanthropy . Other wealthy businessmen donating part of their fortune to charity include Warren Buffet , Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg .