scorecardBodyguards, security costs, and private jets: Companies can spend millions protecting CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook
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Bodyguards, security costs, and private jets: Companies can spend millions protecting CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook

Britney Nguyen   

Bodyguards, security costs, and private jets: Companies can spend millions protecting CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg (left) and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.Justin Sullivan via Getty Images/Tobias Hase/picture alliance via Getty Images
  • The world's top executives earn millions in compensation each year — but it's not all cash money.
  • Security and private jets for head honchos can costs companies millions each year.

David Solomon: $73,138 in 2021

David Solomon: $73,138 in 2021
Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO David Solomon earned $39,545,072 in total compensation in fiscal year 2021.      Reuters / Shannon Stapleton

Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO David Solomon made $39,545,072 in total compensation in fiscal year 2021, according to Goldman's 2022 proxy statement.

In addition to his salary, bonus, and stock awards, he received $264,892 in "other compensation," which included $10,938 for personal security, and $62,200 for a car and driver.

Goldman considers personal security, as well as the car and driver, as a business-related necessity "due to the high-profile standing of our CEO," per the filing.

Source: SEC

Jamie Dimon: $277,659 in 2021

Jamie Dimon: $277,659 in 2021
JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon's $84,428,145 in total compensation in fiscal year 2021 includes costs for personal use of the company's aircraft, personal use of the company's cars, and security for his residence and when he travels.      Michel Euler/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

As CEO and Chairman of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon earned $84,428,145 in total compensation in fiscal year 2021, according to the bank's most recent proxy statement. That number included $146,847 for personal use of the company's aircraft, $30,099 for personal use of the company's cars, and $100,713 for security for his residence and personal travel.

Dimon's personal use of the company's aircraft, cars, and security are part of security measures approved by the bank's board, according to the filing.

Source: SEC

Dara Khosrowshahi: $507,579 in 2021

Dara Khosrowshahi: $507,579 in 2021
Since Uber implemented its security program for CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, it "has identified actual and credible threats to Mr. Khosrowshahi's safety," its proxy statement said.      Photo by Riccardo Savi/Getty Images for Concordia Summit

Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber's CEO, earned $19,937,818 in fiscal year 2021, which included $507,738 in "other compensation," according to the company's 2022 proxy statement. His security and personal safety costs added up to $507,579 — $402,366 of which was for personal transportation services and $105,213 of which was for "protective intelligence services."

Uber's filing says its security program includes certified protection officers, as well as secure meeting spaces and lodging for its executives.

In 2021, Uber provided security staff at Khosrowshahi's residence, along with technology equipment, "and services to Mr. Khosrowshahi at his home that were intended to duplicate, as best as possible, those services that would have been provided to him at our corporate headquarters, in order to make his home secure and functional as his primary workplace, to comply with local stay at home orders in effect as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and based on our assessment of the credibility of threats that were made against Mr. Khosrowshahi."

The company's filing said that since it implemented its security program it "has identified actual and credible threats to Mr. Khosrowshahi's safety as a result of the high-profile nature of being our CEO."

Source: SEC

Andy Jassy: $589,149 in 2021

Andy Jassy: $589,149 in 2021
Amazon President and CEO Andy Jassy earned $212,701,169 in total compensation in fiscal year 2021.      Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images

Amazon President and CEO Andy Jassy earned $212,701,169 in total compensation in fiscal year 2021, which included $592,649 in "other compensation," according to Amazon's most recent proxy statement.

The company spent $589,149 on Jassy's security arrangements, both at business facilities and during business travel. The filing says "security costs are reasonable and necessary and for the Company's benefit."

Source: SEC

Bob Iger: $878,206 in 2022

Bob Iger: $878,206 in 2022
Bob Iger was reappointed as CEO of The Walt Disney Company in November 2022.      Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for Vanity Fair

Bob Iger served as executive chairman at The Walt Disney Company before being reappointed as CEO in November 2022. In fiscal year 2022, Iger was not serving as an executive officer, but still earned $14,998,299 in fiscal year 2022, $2,466,520 of which was in "other compensation," according to the company's proxy statement filed last month.

Iger's personal air travel cost $47,769, and his security cost $830,437.

Source: SEC, Insider

Ted Sarandos: $1,101,063 in 2021

Ted Sarandos: $1,101,063 in 2021
Ted Sarandos was co-CEO of Netflix with Reed Hastings until Hastings stepped down in January 2023.      Paul Bruinooge/Patrick McMullan/Getty Images

Ted Sarandos, who served as co-CEO of Netflix with Reed Hastings in 2021, as well as chief content officer, earned $38,232,164 in total compensation for that fiscal year, according to the company's proxy statement.

That included $1,112,663 in "other compensation," such as $16,353 for car services, $192,137 for personal use of the company's aircraft, and $892,573 for residential security.

Source: SEC, Insider

Tim Cook: $1,358,515 in 2022

Tim Cook: $1,358,515 in 2022
Apple CEO Tim Cook earned $99,420,097 in total compensation in fiscal year 2022.      Jerod Harris/Getty Images Entertainment

Apple CEO Tim Cook earned $99,420,097 in total compensation in fiscal year 2022, according to the company's SEC filing. That included $1,425,933 in "other compensation" — like $591,196 in security expenses and $767,319 for his personal private aircraft use.

Apple's Board requires Cook to use private aircraft for business and personal travel "for security and efficiency reasons."

Source: SEC

Marc Benioff: $1,446,977 in 2022

Marc Benioff: $1,446,977 in 2022
Marc Benioff became sole CEO of Salesforce when his co-CEO, Bret Taylor, stepped down in November 2022.      NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images

Marc Benioff was Salesforce co-CEO and chair of the Board during the fiscal year 2022, in which when he earned $28,602,112 in total compensation, according to the company's most recent proxy statement.

His total compensation incorporated $1,451,977 in "other compensation," including costs for his security that amounted to $1,446,977. Salesforce says Benioff's security is "a necessary and appropriate business expense" in its filing.

Source: SEC, Insider

Larry Ellison: $1,564,394 in 2022

Larry Ellison: $1,564,394 in 2022
Oracle pays for Larry Ellison's security at his primary residence, but he pays for security for his other residences, according to the company's proxy statement.      AP

Larry Ellison, chairman and chief technology officer at Oracle, earned $138,652,063 in total compensation in fiscal year 2022, according to the company's proxy statement. His "other compensation" amounted to $1,577,707, which included $1,564,394 for security for his primary residence. Ellison, himself, pays for security for his other residences, according to the filing.

Source: SEC

Jeff Bezos: $1,600,000 in 2021

Jeff Bezos: $1,600,000 in 2021
Amazon installed bulletproof panels to Jeff Bezos's office windows that cost $180,000 to install.      Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

Amazon founder and executive chair Jeff Bezos earned $1,681,840 in total compensation in fiscal year 2021, $1,600,000 of which was in "other compensation," according to the company's proxy statement.

His other compensation "represents the approximate aggregate incremental cost to Amazon of security arrangements for Mr. Bezos in addition to security arrangements provided at business facilities and for business travel," the filing says.

Amazon said in its filing that the costs for Bezos's security are "especially reasonable" because he has a "low salary" and hasn't received any stock-based pay.

The company was granted permission to install bulletproof panels to Bezos's office in January 2019. They cost $180,000 to install, and can reportedly withstand gunshots from a military-grade assault rifle.

Bezos's entourage of security personnel can seem overwhelming even to people used to an entourage.

When Bezos was on set for his cameo in "Star Trek Beyond," actor Chris Pine said, "I was there for the bit with his, like, nine bodyguards and three limos. It was really intense."

Pine said he didn't know who Bezos was, but that "he was obviously very important."

Source: SEC, Insider, Insider

Sundar Pichai: $4,309,583 in 2021

Sundar Pichai: $4,309,583 in 2021
Apple CEO Sundar Pichai's security had to be stepped up in 2018 after a woman shot three people and herself at YouTube's headquarters.      Jerod Harris/Getty Images

Apple CEO and Director Sundar Pichai earned $6,322,599 in compensation for fiscal year 2021, according to the company's proxy statement.

His "other compensation" beyond his salary amounted to $4,322,599 — $4,309,583 of which was for personal security. His other compensation also includes personal use of Apple's aircraft, but that dollar amount was not listed.

Pichai's security had to be stepped up in 2018 after a woman shot three people, then herself, at YouTube headquarters in April of that year.

Source: SEC, Insider

Mark Zuckerberg: $26,823,060 in 2021

Mark Zuckerberg: $26,823,060 in 2021
Mark Zuckerberg has 24/7 protection, and a rumored "panic cute" at Facebook's office.      Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg earned $26,823,061 in total compensation during fiscal year 2021, according to the company's SEC filing. Although his salary is listed as $1, Zuckerberg received $26,823,060 in "other compensation."

This amount included $15,195,103 in security costs for his residences and during personal travel, and he receives an annual pre-tax allowance of $10,000,000 to cover any additional costs for his and his family's personal security. His other compensation also includes $1,627,957 for his personal private aircraft use.

According to an Insider investigation into Facebook's security operations, Zuckerberg has 24/7 protection, and one of his Bay Area homes has a panic room.

The investigation also found that there's a rumor among Facebook employees of a "panic chute" at the Facebook office in case Zuckerberg and his team need to evacuate.

Source: SEC, Insider

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