Tim Cook: Apple CEO comes out as gay

Apple CEO Tim Cook has courageously come out as gay. He opened up about his sexuality in a Oct. 30 personal essay for Bloomberg Businessweek.

Tim Cook, 53, is now the first Fortune 500 CEO to publicly come out as gay. The Apple CEO revealed his sexuality in an inspiring and brave essay for Bloomberg Businessweek. Tim admits in the essay that he considers “being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.”

“While I have never denied my sexuality, I haven’t publicly acknowledged it either, until now,” Tim wrote in his personal essay in Bloomberg Businessweek. “So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.”

Tim, who has served as Apple’s CEO since 2011, has never publicly acknowledged his sexuality until now.

"Being gay has given me a deeper understanding of what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day,” he continued. “It’s made me more empathetic, which has led to a richer life. It’s been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given me the confidence to be myself, to follow my own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry. It’s also given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you’re the CEO of Apple.”

Tim’s sexuality was hinted at on the June 27 episode of CNBC’s Squawk on the Street.

During a discussion about former BP CEOJohn Browne, host Simon Hobbs said, “I think Tim Cook is fairly open about the fact that he’s gay at the head of Apple, isn’t he?”