Facebook has approved a $10million allowance to beef up Mark Zuckerberg’s family security.
The million-dollar pre-tax allowance is a jump from last year’s $7.3million allocated for home security, body guards, and private air travel – the biggest sum ever for a Fortune 100 company CEO according to research firm Equilar.
The allowance, which was announced in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Thursday, was boosted ‘to address safety concerns due to specific threats’.
Facebook has announced a $10million allowance for the Zuckerberg family, a major boost from last year’s $7.3million budget, pictured above on Capitol Hill in April 2018
His allowance was boosted and announced on Thursday ‘to address safety concerns due to specific threats’, Zuckerberg pictured above after a hearing in Washington in April 2018
‘This allowance will be in addition to the continued funding of Mr. Zuckerberg’s overall security program to cover the costs of security personnel for his protection; the procurement, installation, and maintenance of certain required security measures for his residences; and the usage of private aircraft for personal travel,’ Facebook wrote in a filing.
Facebook will pay Zuckerberg the pricey allowance for him to allocate accordingly for security, residential improvements, and equipment.
The company added it considered Zuckerberg’s ‘position and importance to Facebook’ in establishing the allowance, as well as his salary, which was just $1 last year.
The $10million amount is the most Facebook has allocated for Zuckerberg’s security. In 2015 his security cost $4,256,004.
COO Sheryl Sandberg also has a security program which amounted to $2.7million last year, a fraction of Zuckerberg’s $7.3million in 2017 – which breaks down to $20,000 spent a day, according to CNBC.
CNBC also reported that Zuckerberg has a team of 16 guards working security in rotation at his Palo Alto home.
Zuckerberg’s security budget is massive compared to other company CEOs. In comparison Amazon’s Jeff Bezos spent $1.6million on security in 2016, Apple’s Tim Cook spent just $224,000 in 2016 and Warren Buffett allocated $387,000 that same year.
In 2017 Facebook allocated $7.3million for Zuckerberg’s security and air travel, the largest budget for a Fortune 100 company CEO, pictured running in Berlin surrounded by guards
Also on Thursday, the social media company suffered a 19 per cent stock market plunge, docking $12billion off Zuckerberg’s personal fortune
‘The Committee believes that this allowance, together with the costs of Mr. Zuckerberg’s existing overall security program, are appropriate and necessary under the circumstances,’ the filing from Thursday said.
The allowance was announced the same day Facebook’s stock market value plunged 19 per cent, wiping $119billion off the company’s value and docking $12billion off Zuckerberg’s personal fortune in less than 24 hours.
Thursday marked the social media company’s worst day in six years as a public company. It was also the biggest one-day wipeout in US stock market history.
The Facebook founder’s net worth is now valued at $74 billion, dropping him to the fifth richest person in the world.
Facebook’s shares plunged $41.24 to $176.26 after it failed to meet Wall Street’s estimates for user growth and quarterly revenue.