It’s a steep affair keeping Mark Zuckerberg safe. A StockApps.com data presentation has revealed that in 2021 Meta spent $26.8M on his and his family’s security. That expenditure amounted to some $73.4 thousand a day.
StockApps drew its data from Meta’s SEC filings in which Facebook’s parent company indicated that it had spent $15.2M on Zuckerberg’s security. That was beside the $10M before tax allowance for his and his family’s security.
The firm also spent another $1.6 on his air travels. This figure was a drop compared to the $1.8M and $2.9M it incurred over the same in 2020 and 2019.
Zuckerberg’s surging security budget
Zuckerberg’s 2021 security budget has been increasing in the past decade. In 2020, the firm spent $25M protecting its founder and Chief Executive. Before that, it had spent $23M for the same cause. The CEO’s security allocation jumped steeply following 2018’s Cambridge Analytica debacle.
“Mark Zuckerberg is one of the most well-known and highly scrutinized individuals in the world,” stated StockApps’ Edith Reads. She added, ” Masses are watching and analyzing his every move. So it isn’t a surprise that he has some of the most intense security measures in place.”
Is Meta justified in its security spending?
Meta linked its increased expenditure on Zuckerberg’s security to the strong negative sentiment he may draw to himself. The company stated that the CEO often shoulders the strong disapproval that his firm attracts sometimes.
Thus there was a justification for the 6% increase in that vote head. It also attributed the increasing costs owing to regular travel, COVID-19, and market demands for private security.
Edith Reads concurs, “That’s a hefty sum, but it’s necessary in light of recent events. The high cost of security is a reflection of the current climate and the risks associated with being a public figure. It’s important to remember that this is not just about Zuckerberg; all public figures need to take measures to protect themselves and their loved ones.”
Targets of aggression
Facebook has courted controversy emanating from how it operates in the recent past. Besides the Cambridge Analytica fiasco, it’s battling accusations that it focuses on profit rather than content moderation.
Those accusations came to the fore following an expose by whistleblower Frances Haugen. Such charges have made it, and the CEO targets of aggression.
How does Meta’s security spending compare to other tech execs?
Besides the CEO and his family, Meta also caters for the security of its top brass. Its COO, Sheryl Sandberg, has a security allocation of nearly $9M. Moreover, she draws from a $2.3M kitty for private air travel.
The two Facebook senior figures’ security budgets dwarf those of other prominent industry heads. For instance, Google’s Sundar Pichai’s security kitty isn’t even half of Sandberg’s allocation. It pales further in comparison compared to Zuckerberg’s.
14X Bezos’ spending
Mark’s security spending is about 14 times more than Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. The latter’s firm holds a market cap of $1.55T, that’s twice Facebook’s $602B. Yet Amazon’s expenditure on Bezos’ protection is only $1.6M a year.
Berkshire’s Warren Buffet and Twitter’s Parag Agrawal have far lesser allocations. The former’s security provision comes to $273K while the latter’s is just $64K.
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