Tim Cook rises to #3 on Vanity Fair’s New Establishment List as Eddy Cue drops

Vanity Fair has released an updated version of its New Establishment rankings and as is usually the case, a couple of Apple executives have made the list. CEO Tim Cook has moved up to the third spot this year, while Eddy Cue has fallen to number 73….

Cue last year was ranked at spot 54, but Vanity Fair this year has dropped him 19 stops to number 73. His “crowning achievement” is the upcoming HomePod speaker, which Vanity Fair says may be the “new hit” Apple needs as it iPhone interest “wanes.”

The reason for his drop, however, seems to be Apple’s weak foray into original content with Planet of the Apps. Vanity Fair explains:

CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT

Launching HomePod, Apple’s voice-activated virtual assistant. The product, a competitor to Amazon’s Echo, may be the new hit Apple so desperately needs as interest in the iPhone wanes.

RARE DISPLAY OF MORTALITY

Planet of the Apps, Apple’s foray into original programming under Cue, “feels like something that was developed at a cocktail party,” according to one review.

Apple is seemingly ramping up its focus on original content and has brought in help from a handful of notable TV powerhouses, including two former Sony executives. The company is said to be setting aside at least $1 billion for original content efforts and has been in talks for several notable projects. Whether or not this helps, however, remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, Tim Cook has rocked from number 11 on the list to third place. His “crowning achievement” this year is Apple racing towards a trillion dollar market cap, which analysts have said is a “pretty conservative” estimate.

CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT

With a market cap north of $800 billion, Apple is on track to be a trillion-dollar company.

RARE DISPLAY OF MORTALITY

As consumers reject the new MacBook Pro and Apple arrives late to the game with HomePod, an Echo wannabe, the company is clinging to the iPhone for more than half of its revenue—an inauspicious strategy, since phone sales are predicted to decline.

MORTIFYING TRUMP MOMENT

Cook showed up at Trump Tower in December to kiss the ring, then went to the White House in June to try to convince Trump of the importance of coding in schools.

The full Vanity Fair New Establishment list can be viewed here. Coming in at the top is Jeff Bezos, while Mark Zuckerberg ranks second.

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