I’ll always ‘want to work’: Apple CEO Tim Cook on reaching retirement age in 3 years

Tim Cook is not the only tech billionaire who has been vocal about continuing to work even after reaching retirement age.

Apple CEO Tim Cook is only three years away from reaching his retirement age, but he seems intent to keep working even after he turns 67. Speaking at a recent podcast, the 64-year-old said that he plans to continue working as long as he can.

On “Table Manners,” Cook said that he won't retire in “the traditional definition”. “I don’t see being at home doing nothing and not [being] intellectually stimulated and thinking about how tomorrow can be better than today,” he said. “I think I’ll always be wired in that kind of way and want to work.”

The billionaire, however, doesn’t need to work forever. With a net worth of $2.2 billion (as estimated by Forbes), Cook also took home $74.6 million in total compensation last year as Apple’s CEO.

But, he is not the only tech billionaire with such thoughts on retirement.

At 68, retirement is not a thought that Bill Gates entertains either. In fact, working less than full-time “sounds awful” to the Microsoft co-founder who said that he wants to follow in the footsteps of his friend and legendary investor Warren Buffett, who serves as chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway at 94 and has no plans to retire.

Speaking to CNBC Make It, Gates said that he wants to keep working for “at least 10 years, if my health allows, working at this level.” “Hopefully it’ll be more like 20 or 30... My friend Warren Buffett still comes into the office six days a week. So, I hope my health allows me to be like Warren," he added.

Gates wants to work for the next 30 years because he still has so much he wants to do. Currently, he is a “technology advisor” for Microsoft and spends much of his time using his $128 billion fortune to fund potential solutions for global problems such as climate change, poverty, and disease, among others.