Tim Cook: Being Gay is “God’s Greatest Gift To Me”

In a heartfelt interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour yesterday (October 24), Tim Cook said he's very proud of being gay. In fact, it's "God's greatest gift to me."

The Apple CEO came out exactly four years ago, but for the first time, he explained why he decided to come out publicly, even though by nature, he's a very private person.

"I was public because I started to receive stories from kids who read online that I was gay," he told Amanpour.

He was receiving emails and letters from children who had been bullied for being gay. Many were also suicidal. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that it was "selfish" to remain private about his sexual identity, when in coming out, he could help inspire LGBTQ people of all ages.

"I needed to do something for them," Cook said. He wanted to demonstrate that one "can be gay and still go on and do some big jobs in life."

Cook also stated that he is glad that other CEOs have since come out following his announcement; however, that was never his intended goal.