Apple CEO Tim Cook has opened up about the pride he takes in his sexuality, telling CNN that he considers it "God's greatest gift to me."
Cook, who came out as gay in 2014, said that he was first motivated to open up about being gay by young members of the LGBTIQ+ community who reached out to him.
“I [went] public because I began to receive stories from kids who read something online that I was gay, and they were going through being bullied, feeling like their family didn’t love them, being pushed out of their home, very close to suicide — things that just really pulled my heart,” he said, concluding that it would have been "selfish" to withhold his story when it had the potential to help others.
"I needed to do something for them," Cook added, saying he wanted to demonstrate that young people "can be gay and still go on and do some big jobs in life."
Cook also credited coming out as helping him be a stronger leader in his position at Apple.
"I learned what it was like to be a minority," he told CNN.
"The feeling of being in a minority gives you a level of empathy for other people who are not in the majority."
He continued: "That turns out to be pretty beneficial from this role as well."
