Is Apple’s Jony Ive cashing out and moving to England?

By on Feb 27, 2011 at 3:25 PM
Rumor February 27, 2011

The Times of London is reporting that Jonathan Ive, Apple’s senior vice president of product design, could be itching to cash out his Apple’s option grant from 2008 and move with his wife and two kids to the UK. If the article is accurate, Ive’s options are worth about $30 million and would ring up his net worth to around $128 million. The paper quotes a friend of the Ives as saying:

Unfortunately he is just too valuable to Apple and they told him in no uncertain terms that if he headed back to England he would not be able to sustain his position with them … It’s a shame. We hardly ever see anyone at the house.

An Apple spokesperson wouldn’t comment on the option grant part of the story and deemed Jonathan Ive’s desire to move to England as “speculation.”

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  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Matthew-Williams/713122739 Matthew Williams

    Can you blame them?

    • Anonymous

      I’m sure he will. Apple has failed and he sees the light with DROID and the DROID OS. With Apple in the red and Steve Jobs out of the picture the company won’t even have a chance to stay relevant. The people have spoken. We all want open source, freedom, choice of our favorite types of fragmentation, and all of the other joys that come with the DROID OS. When is the last time Apple made a profit on anything? Yeah maybe BGR reported incorrectly (and prematurely) about the iphone 4 sales being low on Verizon, and it actually was the best selling device in Verizon history, but but DROID clearly DOES.

      • SCY

        You really believe Apple isn’t profitable? You must not keep up with the market very well…

      • Anonymous

        Every device Apple sells is a profit center. Do some homework man!

      • Ultraseven32

        dont waste your time with him. he’s just a troll.

      • Anonymous

        You need to stop spreading false rumors. Apple is not in the red. Apple is one the most profitable tech companies with lots of cash. iphone 4 is the most profitable cell phone in terms of quantity sold and profit margin.

      • Rick

        think he’s being sarcastic dude.

      • Anonymous

        Have you looked at Apple’s financials lately? Apple is one of the most profitable companies. You are seriously misinformed or ignorant. You need to get an education.

      • Anonymous

        Mmmm… Crack

      • Anonymous

        Every device Apple sells is a profit center. Do some homework man!

      • http://www.facebook.com/michaeljmcgrath Michael McGrath

        you wreak of beta.

      • http://twitter.com/gnomehole The Gnome

        Bwahahahaa.. this post is so dumb it must be a joke.

        Fandroids lack brain cells.

      • Anonymous

        Our auditors at the goofan (aka apple hater) foundation have determined that apple financial statements are false. As Norm, an esteemed member of our board of directors is merely stating the facts. Apple hasnt made one penny since the advent of google. Plain and simple. Obviously because google is on gods side. Whereas apple is sponsored by the devil.

      • Ultraseven32

        shit head. you and norman might be the same person. TROLL!!!

      • Bud Fox

        Be careful man, if these comments are attributed to any sell off you could be found guilty of securities fraud. Surely your parents won’t like that. Go back to your top bunk.

      • Todd

        I’m certainly not an Apple fan. But when you feel you’ve reached a certain point in your career, money is not all that important. It’s about goals, doing new things and enjoying yourself, not the money. It could be (if the rumour is true) that he actually might want to have a life and spend more time with his family.

  • Alexander530

    That’s it, I’m submitting my resume to Apple.

  • Anonymous

    I hope not because Apple is screwed if he leaves. I’d even go as far as saying he’s more important to Apple than Steve

    • Anonymous

      There’s always been really good creative types in all companies. Whether or not they get to call the big decisions is another matter. By nature these types bet big and make mistakes but when they get it right you can have 10 years of profits from a single of their ideas.

      Look at what happened to the father of the gameboy.

  • http://www.techbitts.com/?source=disqus George Tinari

    I’m just surprised the Apple spokesperson actually commented at all.

  • Anonymous

    Perhaps he was behind the whole antenna debacle. either way there are enough artsy people out there to fill in his place.

    • Anonymous

      You’re referring to Mark Papermaster.

  • Shaheer2095

    For the people that are saying no problem if Ive leaves… Are you ill? Can anyone imagine an Apple Product commercial without his luscious English accent and big brown eyes talking in amazement? :’(

  • http://twitter.com/ScaredyCat Andy Powell

    ‘Unfortunately he is just too valuable to Apple and they told him in no uncertain terms that if he headed back to England he would not be able to sustain his position with them’

    The logic of that statement is flawed – If he’s that important to Apple they’d be bending over backwards to make sure he could continue working for them from the UK.

  • RH

    With Job’s health still up in the air, and the stock market being as fickle as it is, I look for a few people to sell their stocks in Apple. Regardless of right or wrong, whenever Job’s passes, the stock will tank, if for just a little while, because of the Job’s “myth”.

  • Anonymous

    OH this is the one that made the bad ANTENA?

    • Anonymous

      No, that was Mark Papermaster and he has already left Apple.

  • http://twitter.com/gnomehole The Gnome

    We’re nowhere near as global as Apple and we have key people in the UK… not sure I see the issue here.

  • Anonymous

    Good riddance… It’s obvious this guy is not anywhere near as smart as the least smartest member of the goofan (aka apple hater) nation so good riddance!

  • Anonymous

    He’s not stupid. Why would you want to live in a country where, if some reason to lose everything or your children or grandchildren do, you can’t even afford to see a doctor when you’re sick?

    • http://twitter.com/wriemer Will Riemer

      What’s the difference? In the UK – you wait weeks for an appointment and will die anyways.

    • Anonymous

      100% wrong. Doctors and hospitals in the US can NOT turn you away for lack of payment.

  • Rick

    The article suggests he wants to educate his kids in England.
    Let’s see – you’ve garnered all your success in the US and you live in an area where there are numerous young succesful people around you, hardly any of whom have been raised in England – and now it seems like a good idea to pack up and cross the ocean?
    That’s a bit ridiculous. If there’s any real reason here it may be because the young up and comers now have more influence over the direction design is taking at Apple. That would be it.

  • Anonymous

    If this ends up being true this would be worse for Apple than Steve Jobs leaving, IMHO.

  • Anonymous

    Apple is so much more successful than their competition that rather than outcompete Apple, their competition is reduced to spreading rumors. Anything negative about Apple has to be met with skepticism.

  • http://twitter.com/WillieFDiazSF William Diaz ✔

    Jony Ive leaving Apple means a few things…

    1. Steve Jobs is NOT coming back.
    2. Jony is NOT up for a position at the top.
    3. Apple products will not have the same sexy design we come to love, the designs that have turned the company around and made it different.

    Guess its time for Apple to start replacing people.

  • Stever

    whoo hoo!!! death to apple. Its time the pretentious, superficial trendy apple fanbois and gurls get their head pulled out of the clouds and slammed into the pavement.

  • Redeyes_kranti

    His design philosophy and talent defines Apple’s products to a great extent..Even if leaves, Apple might have made sure they take dozen designs from him and release it for the next 12 years(i.e., if the designs are futuristic enough and not get outdated)..Meanwhile they will find someone else..Unless there is a tiff inside, I am having a hard time understanding his intention of leaving Apple( i.e., if he wants to leave) because he can earn billions with Apple and as a designer its a challenge to go against others (Google and other tech companies)…

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=678530630 Jose Andres Armenteros

    This is a power play. He is using the paper as a proxy. scare them and show just how important he is and gain the CEO spot. Ive is smart and this is very well played.

    What’s really interesting is if Jobs is on a deathwatch where these kinda of moves would be made in the first place

  • Anonymous

    Ya right this loves apple more then life it self. He is passionate about his work. He has been a millionaire for years know. If he wanted to leave he would have left. If he did leave it would get no better then this. Just look at Paul teutel jr from occ.

  • http://bit.ly/samirsshah समीर शाह

    I really wish this is just a rumor:-(.

  • Anonymous

    What’s that about rats leaving a sinking ship? Seriously, if this rumor has any truth to it, it means that Steve is not coming back and people are getting out of Dodge before the s*** hits the fan.

    If Johnny Appleseed leaves as well, then they have really big problems. ;)

  • Anonymous

    If he’s moving to the UK he’ll need that $30m to buy a house, a tank of gas and his first week’s shopping :D

  • serpentor

    Well, he’s forward thinking so he knows when the right time to get out is.

    If he wasn’t going to leave, right now is still a good time to cash out.

  • http://www.facebook.com/doompod Justin Zetzer

    QUIT! FAMILY FIRST!

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