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Business leaders are scared: CEO ‘security spending’ has risen exponentially

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In the US, investment in the ‘personal security’ of CEOs of companies managing trillions of dollars in assets is on the rise.

According to a report in the Financial Times (FT), Larry Fink, CEO of global investment management firm BlackRock, is leading the way.

According to the report, BlackRock more than tripled its spending on Larry Fink’s home security last year after the asset manager’s chairman and chief executive became the target of “anti-woke” activists and “conspiracy theorists”.

According to BlackRock’s executive compensation disclosure in its proxy statement released earlier this month, the $10.5 trillion company paid $563,513 to ‘upgrade home security systems’ at Fink’s residences in 2023. The biggest item of ‘security’ expenditure was ‘bodyguards’ at $216,837.

BlackRock was mentioned several times in the primary debates between Donald Trump’s rivals for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination. One candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, described Fink as ‘the king of the woke industrial complex and the ESG [environmental, social and corporate governance] movement’. Ramaswamy withdrew from the race and announced his support for Trump.

In 2022, the company drew up personal security plans for Fink and BlackRock president Robert Kapito following a security report by a security group. The company said the security services were ‘in the best interests of the company and its shareholders’ due to the ‘critical value’ the duo provided.

Disney and Pfizer also spend millions on executive protection

BlackRock is not the only American company to increase spending on security for its chief executive. Disney announced that chief executive Bob Iger’s salary package for 2023 will include $1.2m for ‘security services and equipment’. This compares to $830,437 the previous year. Iger had returned as CEO in November 2022 at a time when Disney was criticised for being ‘too woke’.

Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna, both of which have faced criticism over Covid-19 vaccines, also spent heavily on their CEOs’ security last year. Moderna paid $1,053,767 for security services for Stéphane Bancel, who announced that he had made no security payments the previous year.

Pfizer also paid $789,495 for ‘additional security protection’ for its CEO Albert Bourla, citing ‘increased security risks, including threats to its executives’. The company spent $800,687 on this work in 2022.

The group said the payments covered ‘appropriate home security systems’ as well as security consulting and other services.

Goldman Sachs the only company to cut security spending

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon received $150,645 ‘for housing, personal travel and related security expenses’ in 2023, a figure that nearly quadrupled from the previous year. The latest figure includes ‘one-time expenses related to system installations and upgrades’, the lending institution said.

David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, received $29,990 for personal security in 2023, compared to $31,610 in 2022.

Electric car maker Tesla recorded almost $2.4 million in expenses for its CEO Elon Musk in 2023, and spent another $500,000 in the first two months of this year.

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US tariffs on steel and aluminum set to impact $150 billion market

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The 25% tariff on steel and aluminum products imposed by US President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday is expected to create upward pressure on prices for approximately $150 billion worth of imports, negatively impacting the profits of American automakers and other companies.

The US imports about one-fifth of the steel it consumes. More than 20% of this import by weight comes from Canada, followed by Brazil at 16%, and the European Union at 7%, with Japan ranking seventh at 4%. Canada is also the largest supplier of aluminum to the US.

Because the direct cost of tariffs falls on importers, this will mean higher costs, especially for manufacturers in the US auto industry.

US-based Wolfe Research anticipates the 25% tariff will drive the price of steel products up by as much as 16% above the 2024 average. Aluminum prices, which are already trending upward, are expected to nearly double.

Nomura Securities research analyst Anindya Das estimates the impact on automakers’ fiscal 2025 operating profits from a 10% increase in steel and aluminum prices compared to the 2024 average. According to this analysis, American players Ford Motor and General Motors will face a hit of approximately 3% to 4% if they cannot pass on their costs through higher prices.

Toyota Motor will experience a smaller decline of 0.5%, while the impact on Subaru, which conducts a large portion of its production in North America, will be around 2%.

Some parts manufacturers affiliated with Toyota bring steel from Japan for use in their US production facilities, and there have been calls for the company to cover the higher costs resulting from the tariffs.

A Toyota executive stated, “Tariffs are a factor outside their control, so we will respond appropriately.”

Japan has pushed to be exempted from the tariffs. “Steel and aluminum products from Japan do not harm the national security of the US,” Cabinet Chief Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters on Wednesday. “On the contrary, high-quality Japanese products are difficult to substitute and are necessary to make the US manufacturing sector more competitive, and greatly contribute to US industry and employment,” he added.

According to EU-based Global Trade Alert, the tariffs announced by the Trump administration last month cover a total of 289 categories, excluding overlaps between the steel and aluminum lists. These items, which also include kitchen and sporting goods, accounted for approximately 4.5% of the US total last year, with $151 billion in imports.

China was the largest importer at $35 billion, followed by Mexico at $30.6 billion, the EU at $20.3 billion, and Canada at $17.1 billion. Japan ranked seventh at $7 billion. When EU members were counted as separate countries instead of a single bloc, 27 economies had exposures exceeding $500 million.

To avoid tariffs, steel and aluminum exports previously destined for the US may be sold in other markets instead. Jakob Stausholm, CEO of Anglo-Australian iron ore miner Rio Tinto, said last month that selling aluminum in other markets such as Europe was an option.

Tadashi Imai, chairman of the Japan Iron and Steel Federation and president of Nippon Steel, recently stated that the biggest concern is that the tariffs “contribute to the market collapse caused by China’s excessive exports.”

With China’s economy declining, steelmakers are selling products at low prices elsewhere that cannot be absorbed by the domestic market. If they face higher barriers in the US, these goods could flow to other countries.

The US is also the world’s largest exporter of scrap iron and steel, and rising scrap prices leaving the country are likely to reverberate in the global market.

A representative from Japanese aluminum manufacturer UACJ said, “The short-term impact will be small, but it could be larger in the long term.”

Although the company generally produces products for the US domestically, it imports some products with special requirements from Japan in small quantities. According to UACJ, starting alternative production in the US could take three to four years.

Other companies are turning to completely different materials. Coca-Cola stated last month that it would switch some packaging from aluminum to plastic if the tariffs came into effect.

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AMERICA

Trump signs order for ‘strategic crypto reserve’

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US President Donald Trump, in a move aimed at revitalizing the digital assets sector, has signed an executive order authorizing the federal government to stockpile cryptocurrency assets seized through law enforcement agencies.

According to a post on X by David Sacks, the White House’s crypto and artificial intelligence czar, under the executive order, the federal government will retain bitcoin assets seized by federal law enforcement, which will enter a “strategic bitcoin reserve.”

Sacks added that the reserve “will not cost taxpayers a single penny,” further authorizing the Treasury and Commerce departments to “develop budget-neutral strategies to acquire additional bitcoin, provided these strategies do not incur any additional costs on American taxpayers.”

Sacks wrote about bitcoin, “The reserve is like a digital Fort Knox. The early sale of Bitcoin has already cost US taxpayers over $17 billion in lost value. Now, the federal government will have a strategy to maximize the value of its holdings.”

The order also established a separate “US Digital Asset Stockpile” to include other cryptocurrencies seized by the government. Earlier this week, Trump hinted at the possibility of including tokens such as Ripple’s XRP, Solana, and Cardano, alongside bitcoin and ether, in what he termed the “Crypto Strategic Reserve,” causing the prices of these tokens to rise with investors’ hopes that the US government would enter the market as a major buyer of digital assets.

However, crypto prices fell immediately after Sacks’s post and recovered shortly thereafter. According to CoinGecko data, as of 4:45 PM (presumably local time, though unspecified), bitcoin was trading at approximately $88,000, down 2.8% from the previous 24 hours.

The creation of the reserve and stockpile is part of a broad shift in Washington towards policies aimed at benefiting the crypto industry. It comes ahead of a crypto summit to be held at the White House on Friday, which will be attended by leading figures in the digital assets world.

For supporters, the bitcoin reserve is a chance for the US to participate in the growth of the original cryptocurrency, and many in the market believe that the market is poised to climb higher as Trump pursues a crypto-friendly regulatory agenda.

Yet, there are still many questions about how the reserve and stockpile will operate. For example, some critics doubt that the federal government can cash in its bitcoin holdings without spooking other investors and triggering a sell-off.

Trump first promised to create a crypto reserve during a speech at a major bitcoin conference in July.

Sacks said, “I want to thank the President for his leadership and vision in supporting this cutting-edge technology and for his swift action in supporting the digital asset industry. His administration is truly moving at ‘technology speed’.”

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BlackRock to acquire Panama Canal ports in major deal

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New York-based asset management giant BlackRock announced on Tuesday that it will acquire two ports serving the Panama Canal from Hong Kong’s CK Hutchinson, as part of a larger $22.8 billion deal.

US President Donald Trump had threatened to regain control of the Panama Canal, believing that US ships were not being treated fairly due to Chinese influence. This deal could potentially alleviate those concerns.

The ports will be acquired by a consortium that includes BlackRock, as well as Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment Limited.

Hutchinson’s official statement said the deal was “completely unrelated to recent political news regarding the Panama Ports,” and that the deal was the result of a “fast” process.

BlackRock declined to comment further, but sources say the firm has informed both the White House and Congress about the deal.

According to the *Financial Times* (*FT*), CEO Larry Fink himself informed senior leaders in the Trump administration, including the president, to secure their support for the takeover, in order to overcome possible political obstacles.

A source added that the consortium would not have proceeded with its offer if it believed the US government would not support the deal.

The deal consists of two parts, one of which covers Hutchinson’s 90% stake in the ownership and operation of the Balboa and Cristobal ports in Panama.

This transaction will be conducted separately from the second part, which covers 43 ports in 23 countries, including Germany and the United Kingdom, and 80% of the shares will be sold. Hutchinson’s ports in China are not included.

The remaining 20% stake is held by PSA, a port operator owned by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek.

BlackRock did not provide an estimated closing date, likely due to the number of different regulators whose opinions will need to be sought. The deal is expected to be formally signed by April 2.

CK Hutchison, controlled by Hong Kong’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, and his family, has a portfolio consisting of ports, retail, telecom, and other infrastructure. Port operations account for approximately 9% of CK Hutchison’s total revenue of HKD 461.6 billion (USD 593.97 billion) in 2023.

Hutchison Ports, one of the world’s largest container terminal operators, has been managing the ports at both ends of the canal since 1997 under concessions from the Panamanian government.

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