New York (CNN Business) In 2014, Tim Cook became the first CEO of a major company to come out as gay. He says he's happy about that distinction — and his decision.

"I'm very proud of it," the Apple ( AAPL ) CEO told Christiane Amanpour on Wednesday in an exclusive interview for her program on CNN International and PBS. Being gay is "God's greatest gift to me," he said.

Cook came out on October 30, 2014 . His sexual orientation had been widely rumored beforehand though he had not confirmed it publicly.

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

He said the emails and letters came from children who said they had been ostracized, bullied or abused because of their sexual orientation.

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