Zuckerberg's Security Costs Reach Princely Sums

Facebook parent company Meta saves a lot of money on salary and bonuses for its CEO, as Mark Zuckerberg receives only a token $1 per year. His security costs, on the other hand, are another story. The company revealed in an SEC filing that it paid a record $26.8 million last year to keep the CEO safe, reports Bloomberg. The breakdown: $15.2 million for basic security protection, plus $10 million for a pretax security allowance for him and his family, and another $1.6 million for use of private aircraft when he travels. Details aren't provided in the filing, but Business Insider notes that Zuckerberg is known to have "24/7 bodyguard protection, as well as access to an office with bullet-resistant glass and a panic button."

The filing cites higher costs in general for such protection, and it justifies the need: "Negative sentiment regarding our company is directly associated with, and often transferred to, Mr. Zuckerberg." It would appear that Meta spends far more than other big firms on such costs. Bloomberg reports that Amazon paid $1.6 million for Jeff Bezos' security in 2021, though neither outlet was able to get an estimate on costs related to protection for Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. (Zuckerberg has a daily morning routine that helps him cope with a deluge of bad press.)