Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook is joining the list of the very rich who are giving away their wealth.

Fortune magazine cited the head of the world’s largest technology corporation as saying he planned to donate his estimated $785 million fortune to charity, after paying for his 10-year-old nephew’s college education.

You want to be the pebble in the pond that creates the ripples for change.
–Tim Cook

Fortune estimated that Cook holds $120m worth of Apple shares and a further $665m of restricted stocks.

The 54-year-old CEO’s revelation in Fortune’s lengthy profile of him is another in a growing list of the super-rich opting for super-philanthropy.

While Cook’s largesse may not begin to approach that of a Bill Gates ora Mark Zuckerberg, both worth billions of dollars, the Apple CEO told Fortune he hopes to make a difference.

Cook has always been an intensely private person. But in recent years, he has begun speaking out on issues ranging from the environment to civil rights.

He did also recently reveal he was gay, and has spoken out against discrimination of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual communities during his induction into the Alabama Academy of Honor last year.

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 just writing cheques.