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.
