Tim Cook is Gay! 5 Signs We Saw Coming

Apple CEO Tim Cook has come out in the open and proudly admit that he is gay.

In an essay he wrote for Bloomberg Businessweek on Tuesday, Cook said: "While I have never denied my sexuality, I haven't publicly acknowledged it either, until now."

"So let me be clear. I'm proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me," the Apple CEO enthused.

Tim Cook's official coming out party was a surprise as far as timing is concerned, but his sexuality has long been the subject of rumors in various circles since he assumed the top post of Apple in August 2011 after the death of Steve Jobs.

MSN News reports that in admitting himself as gay, Tim Cook is now officially the most prominent gay business executive in the U.S., if not the whole world.

Advocate has an even better description when it said: "By coming out as gay, Tim Cook becomes the most influential and powerful CEO of any company to live openly, providing an example that was missing at the highest levels of the business world."

"Being gay has given me a deeper understanding of what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day. It's made me more empathetic, which has led to a richer life," Cook wrote.

"It's been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given me the confidence to be myself, to follow my own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry. It's also given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you're the CEO of Apple," he emphasized.

Had Tim Cook's announcement come before the Apple iPad event on October 16 or the official launching of the Apple Pay on October 20, it could have stolen the thunder from Apple's latest products, pundits believe.

5 Signs We Saw This Coming

Long before the Apple CEO officially made his admission on his sexual preference, a number of people have already seen this one coming. And here are the signs that point to such:

1. Tim Cook has been a long-time bachelor.

One of his female classmates in Auburn told Fortune: "Tim's just not a real social person. He's not anti-social either. He just never seemed that interested in other people."

2. He has been supportive of the positions and rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders (LBGTs)

3. In April 2013, LBGT has named him to its "Power List," which Out magazine published.

4. Also last year, Tim Cook delivered a speech at Auburn University, his alma mater, talking about experiencing discrimination, as reported by AllthingsD

5. In November 2013, through an opinion article on the Wall Street Journal, he called on Congress to outlaw job discrimination, citing that workplace equality is good for the business. AllthingsD also posted the piece in another report.