Over the last year, it got a lot more expensive to make sure Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stayed safe.
According to a regulatory filing for the US. Securities and Exchange Commission, the powerful tech chief’s security expenses surged to $7.3 million in 2017, from $4.9 million the previous year. The Facebook board’s compensation committee authorized Zuckerberg’s security program because it said it had to “address safety concerns due to specific threats to his safety arising directly as a result of his position as our founder, Chairman, and CEO” and that the jump in costs “are appropriate and necessary.”
Among the expenses are the purchase, installation, and maintenance for Zuckerberg’s personal residences, which include properties in San Francisco and Palo Alto. It also includes his personal usage of private aircraft. Security expenses accounted for 83% of Zuckerberg’s overall compensation package in 2017, which rose by over 50%. However, his base salary still remains at $1.
Zuckerberg delivered around 10 hours of testimony this week on how data from millions of Facebook users might have been improperly shared with political consultancy Cambridge Analytica. He remained largely unscathed by the rare outing and even boosted the company’s market value by $24 billion through his performance in front of senators.