Among the many billionaires and millionaires in the world, Mark Zuckerberg is one of the most hated people today. The reason is, this Facebook CEO almost always has negative news every week.
Even though Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos are far richer than him, Zuckerberg remains the face of Big Technology who wants to destroy the world order. What’s more, Facebook and Zuckerberg have been accused of rigging elections and overthrowing the government.
Reporting from Yahoo Finance, Tuesday (18/5/21) considering that Zuckerberg is the face of Facebook, it can be assumed that Zuckerberg has received several threats. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that his company spends a fortune on the security of Zuckerberg and family.
As a public company, Facebook is required to share all information with the Securities and Exchange Commission or the SEC on an annual basis. The most recent filings reveal just how much money Facebook is spending on the safety of Mark Zuckerberg and his family.
Technically, Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t spend any money on his security. Moreover, he was only paid 1 US dollar. Facebook is what guarantees the safety of the founder. According to a proxy statement Facebook filed with the SEC in April 2021, Facebook revealed that it spent more than $ 23 million (IDR 328 billion) last year alone.
According to the statement, Zuckerberg is subjected to such tight security because he is synonymous with the company, any negative sentiment regarding Facebook is associated and often diverted to Zuckerberg.
Facebook usually reviews its senior official’s security program annually. The filing also revealed that security costs more than doubled from last year when Facebook spent an estimated $ 10.4 million ensuring the safety of its CEO. This year the cost increased by USD13 million.
Facebook said the reasons for the rising costs were mainly driven by the COVID-19 travel protocol and the 2020 US elections when its security coverage was doubled. The filing also reveals that there are other periods of increased security risk but have not disclosed those periods.
Companies justify the spending because they feel the need to remember the threats Zuckerberg has received.
The proxy filings also reveal that the company intends to offer personal security to non-employee directors on certain occasions, as they are under scrutiny simply because they serve on Facebook’s board. This included the safety of several non-employee directors through January and February of this year following the attacks on the US Capitol Building on January 6.