Keeping Mark Zuckerberg safe costs a lot of money. And the amounts go up every year. For example, the security of the founder of Facebook and CEO of parent company Meta will cost about 26.8 million dollars in 2021.

When you say Facebook, you think of Mark Zuckerberg. Therefore, the CEO is usually targeted personally when news about the social media platform is circulated. And that is why security is not unimportant. But the cost of keeping Zuckerberg safe is many times more than the money spent by similar tech companies. For example, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos security cost “just” $1.6 million in 2021.

At Zuckerberg, the picture is different. Last year, parent company Meta paid $15.2 million to protect the CEO at home and while travelling. He will also receive an additional $10 million as a “before tax” allowance to keep his family safe. And then there’s also $1.6 million for the use of a personal plane.

So a total of 26.8 million dollars. About 6 percent more than in 2020. Meta attributes this increase to personal travel, protocols related to Covid-19 and price increases for security personnel.

It is important to know that that security budget is actually partly the CEO’s salary because Zuckerberg pays himself an annual salary of 1 dollar. And he doesn’t get bonuses.

Meta doesn’t just pay for Zuckerberg’s security either. Security agents also surround other top officials at the company. In 2021, for example, nearly $9 million was spent on the security of COO Sheryl Sandberg. And to that must be added 2.3 million for the use of a private jet.