In April, Sam Altman made unwanted headlines when a 20-year-old man threw a Molotov cocktail at the OpenAI CEO’s home in San Francisco. The threat of violence is not isolated. A surge in attacks has prompted increased executive security across industries, costing Big Tech companies millions.
Threats against senior corporate leaders more than doubled in 2025 compared with the year prior, according to a report from the Security Executive Council, with tech and finance the most targeted sectors. A third of these incidents resulted in death or physical injury. That doesn’t include former UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was killed in December 2024. His alleged killer, Luigi Mangione, is set to stand trial next month.
As threats against executives have risen, the median value of security costs for executives at S&P 500 companies jumped 37.8 percent from 2024 to reach $130,000 in 2025, executive intelligence firm Equilar reported. Given the SEC’s disclosure requirement for any executive perks over $10,000, more public companies are required to shed light on these expenses. These costs cover everything from residential security and bodyguards to private jet travel, personal drivers, and even millions spent on acquiring neighboring properties.
Meta’s co-founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has a history of dealing with death threats and stalking, effectively positioning him as a lightning rod for outrage against Meta. This, the company said in a filing, justifies his more than $27 million in security expenses in 2025.
Here’s what some of the biggest tech companies spend on security for their top executives:
Mark Zuckerberg and other Meta executives
Annual revenue: $201 billion
Executive security spend: $27.4 million
Meta is the biggest spender among Big Tech companies on executive security perquisites, devoting the vast majority of its $27.4 million in 2025 security expenses to Zuckerberg. The company spent more than $25 million on the CEO’s personal security, including $2.2 million for private aircraft travel and a $14 million pre-tax allowance to cover additional personal security costs for him and his family.
Zuckerberg’s security efforts are notably extreme. Since moving into Palo Alto’s Crescent Park neighborhood in 2011, he has reportedly spent over $110 million buying at least 11 adjacent homes to fortify his compound. He also owns 2,300 acres in Hawaii, where he is constructing a highly private estate.
Meta also paid for security for a handful of other executives, including $1.94 million for Chief Operating Officer Javier Olivan. “These costs are appropriate and necessary in light of the threat landscape,” the company wrote.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai and SVP Philipp Schindler
Annual revenue: $406.2 billion
Executive security spend: $9.4 million
Most of the $9.38 million in security expenses for executives at Alphabet (Google) went to CEO Sundar Pichai, whose personal security cost the company more than $8.8 million in 2025. This included residential security, monitoring services and transportation, including for personal and business use of company aircraft.
Philipp Schindler, SVP and chief business officer of Google, also received nearly $582,000 for personal security.
Andy Jassy and other Amazon executives
Annual revenue: $716.92 billion
Executive security spend: $3.6 million
Amazon’s $3.6 million security spend in 2025 went primarily to CEO Andy Jassy and founder and executive chair Jeff Bezos. The company spent $1.7 million on Jassy and $1.6 million on Bezos. It also spent more than $245,000 on security for Matthew Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Services.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang
Annual revenue: $130.5 billion
Executive security spend: $4 million
Nvidia’s full $4 million in security expenses went to CEO Jensen Huang for the company’s fiscal year 2026, which ended on Jan. 25. Services included residential and travel security, driver services, monitoring and private aircraft travel for business and personal use.
Apple CEO Tim Cook
Annual revenue: $416 billion
Executive security spend: $1.68 million
Apple protected longtime CEO Tim Cook with $1.68 million in security spend in fiscal year 2025, which ended on Sept. 27. Nearly $888,000 of the budget went to outright security costs, while close to $790,000 went to private air travel for security and efficiency purposes. For security reasons, the Apple board requires Cook to use private aircraft for all business and personal travel.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk
Annual revenue: $95 billion
Executive security spend: $4.8+ million
Tesla’s security spend is less clear. The EV company spent $4.8 million on Elon Musk’s personal security in 2025, up substantially from $2.8 million in 2024. But this amount represents just “a portion of the total cost of security services” for Musk, the company wrote in an SEC filing. Musk has multiple businesses, including SpaceX, which went public in June, and owns his own security firm, Foundation Security. His other businesses pay for additional security expenses.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella
Market cap: $281.7 billion
Executive security spend: $85,000
Microsoft shelled out just $85,000 for personal security for CEO and chairman Satya Nadella in fiscal year 2025, which ended last year on June 30. This total is significantly less than comparable tech companies, with Microsoft stating these expenses are “an integral part of our risk management program.”
