Out of concerns for the safety of their CEOs, US tech giants led by Meta are expanding their spending on security.
Recently, foreign media reported that the total security spending of 10 US tech giants’ CEOs in 2024, including Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, will exceed $45 million, with a year-on-year growth of 10%. Among them, Meta spent $27 million (approximately RMB 194 million) on its founder Mark Zuckerberg, with a year-on-year growth of 35%, far exceeding the combined security spending of $20 million (approximately RMB 144 million) for the CEOs of Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google.
Statistics show that Google parent company Alphabet, Amazon, and Nvidia have all increased their security budgets by more than 10% year-on-year. In 2024, Alphabet allocated $6.8 million for CEO Sundar Pichai’s security; Nvidia spent $3.5 million to protect its CEO Jen-Hsun Huang, up from $2.2 million the previous year. Amazon allocated $1.1 million for the current CEO Andy Jassy, while the former CEO and founder Jeff Bezos continues to receive $1.6 million per year for personal security.
On the other hand, Apple spent $1.4 million on Tim Cook’s security in 2024, down from $2.4 million in 2023. Tesla only disclosed $0.5 million in security expenses for Elon Musk, however, since Musk has his own security company, this amount is only a small portion of his actual security expenses. The security of CEOs from Silicon Valley tech giants is typically handled by private security companies.
On December 4th last year, Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth Group, encountered a serious shooting outside a hotel in New York and later died in the hospital. This incident caused widespread concern among US corporate giants and led to an increase in security spending for executives.
Compared to other companies, Meta’s security spending is highly concentrated on Zuckerberg, and the scope of the security plan is much broader, covering Zuckerberg’s housing, family, travel, and even extending to digital security protection online.
Analysis pointed out that Zuckerberg’s personal safety is closely related to the stability of Meta as his company image is deeply bound up with his own.
As a prominent company in the social media industry, Meta has always been high-profile and has attracted controversy over issues such as misinformation and user privacy, leading to increased security demands for Zuckerberg.
Recently, foreign media reports have surfaced claiming that Zuckerberg has quietly purchased at least 11 properties in the Crescent Park area of Palo Alto in the San Francisco Bay Area over the past 14 years, with a total value exceeding $110 million, and has opened a private school in one of the properties. This has violated regulations on private residences in the US, prompting the local government to launch an investigation.
Meta’s financial results for the second quarter of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 showed that the company generated $47.516 billion in revenue, a 22% increase year-on-year, and its net profit increased by 36% to $18.337 billion compared to the same period last year.