Facebook appears to be spending so much on the security of its CEO- Mark Zuckerberg. According to a recent SEC filing by the social media giant, it spent more than $25 million in 2020 for Zuckerberg’s security.
This is $2 million more than Facebook spent on Zuckerberg in 2019. This was largely down to more spending on personal security, thanks to rising costs during the pandemic and US elections, Facebook said.
In 2020, Facebook spent more than $13.4 million on personal security for Zuckerberg “at his residences and during personal travel pursuant to Mr. Zuckerberg’s overall security program,” the filing said.
He also received a pre-tax annual allowance of $10 million for his family’s security, taking total security spend to $23.4 million, plus $1.8 million in costs for his use of private jets.
In 2019 the tech firm spent $20.4 million on protecting him, including $10.4 on personal security, the annual allowance of $10 million for his family’s security. It spent $2.9 million on his private jets.
The $3 million rise in security spending from 2019 to 2020 was “primarily due to regular personal travel, costs relating to security protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic, increased security coverage during the 2020 US elections and other periods with increased security risk, and market increases in the costs of security personnel,” Facebook said.
“Mr. Zuckerberg’s role puts him in a unique position,” the company wrote in the filing. “He is synonymous with Facebook, and as a result, negative sentiment regarding our company is directly associated with, and often transferred to, Mr. Zuckerberg.”
Zuckerberg accepted a $1 salary from Facebook, as he has in previous years, and didn’t receive any bonus payments or incentive compensation, the company said in the filing.
Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, earned $918,077 in 2020 and the company spent $8.5 million on protecting her – $3 million more than in 2019. This was also down to increased security during the presidential elections and the pandemic, it said.
