Facebook security spending is in the news again. Facebook’s parent company Meta, spent $26.8 million on security and private jets for Mark Zuckerberg, according to their 2021 Security and Exchange Commission Schedule 14a filing.
2021 Meta SCHEDULE 14A Proxy Statement.
The SEC Report Details
The SEC Report mentions that in 2021 $15,195,103 was spent on residential security and personal travel security under Mr. Zuckerberg’s overall security program. Of importance to those who supply secure transportation services to the corporate and High Net Worth community is that a substantial portion of that 26.8 million, 57% to be exact, went to supplying residential and secure transportation services – and this is not new news; corporate and HNW sector of the market has been providing these services to their executives for decades. What is new and noteworthy is that in the past three years, there has been a significant increase in corporate spending on residential and secure transportation.
Year over Year Increased Security Spending
Looking back from last year to 2018, the then Facebook/now Meta SEC fillings reported that they spent approximately $15,195,103 in 2021 – $13,439,634 in 2020 – $10,463,717 in 2019, and $9,956,847 in 2018, respectively, for costs related to personal security for Mr. Zuckerberg at his residences and during personal travel under Mr. Zuckerberg’s overall security program. That is a 51.7% increase in cost from 2018 to 2021.
Not Just Zuckerberg Security
Mark Zuckerberg is not the only Meta executive benefiting from residential security and secure transportation. Meta also spent nearly nine million dollars in 2021 protecting COO Mrs. Sandberg while at home and traveling. The approximate nine million spent in 2021 represent a 17.5% increase from 2020 – approximately a 100% increase from 2019 and an incredible 200% increase from 2018.
The combined amount spent to protect Mr. Zuckerberg and Mrs. Sandberg while at the residence and secure transportation is approximately 24 million dollars.
What Caught Our Attention
But that’s not the number that caught our attention. Since 2018 Facebook/Meta has increased their spending on residents’ security and secure transportation by 87%.
These numbers represent the corporate community; hence they represent the corporate sector of the profession, which we would agree is growing, but that does not mean that the other sectors of the profession are increasing in the Executive Protection and Secure Transportation area.
Breaking Down the Numbers
The International Security Driver Association analyzed the 2021 Facebook SEC 14A filing numbers and presented them differently. We looked at the amount of money spent by Meta in the year 2021 and did some quick calculations as to how much was spent per hour and per day on personal security for the Facebook Executive.
From the 2021 filings, if you assume a 365-day coverage – the fifteen-plus million for personal protection works out to over $41,000 a day, and if you use a 24-hour day, that works out to around $1700 an hour.
Will Clients Spend Money on Personal Security?
For those that write and post that the client will not spend the money for personal security – here is one company that pays over $41,000 a day to protect one executive. When you add the cost to safeguard Mrs. Sandberg, the price moves to close to $66,000 a day to protect two executives, which is for residential security and secure transportation only.
Meta spends more than half its security budget and keeps its top two executives safe at home and when traveling. Like all decisions that corporations with high-net-worth individuals make, there is a logic behind their decisions to spend their money, including personal security.
IRS Regulation 132
The logic behind Facebook spending 58% of its security budget on residential security and secure transportation can be found in IRS regulation 132. We suggest that those professionals involved in Secure Transportation get a firm understanding of this regulation.
An excellent place to start would be reading chapter 12, page 136 of Joe Autera’s book the Professional Guide to Planning, Managing, and Providing Secure Transportation.
Not Just Meta Increasing Secure Transportation Spending
In 2021, we analyzed the 2020 SEC filings of six Fortune 100 companies and came up with total spending of a little over 21 million dollars on personal security, which works out to $57,770 a day (365 days) and $2407/hour (24 Hours).
The six-company sample showed an increase of a whopping 64% from 2018 to 2020 and 42% from 2019 to 2020. As with Meta, these six companies spent most of their security budget on residential security and secure transportation; the catalyst for these companies was IRS 132.
The result of our research is that the Corporate Community spends considerable money on residential security and secure transportation. Executive Protection – Secure Transportation has been and, in our opinion, will always be their business model, and it has been that way for decades.
Additional Resources
For those with an interest in Security Driving, Secure Transportation, or Executive Protection, the International Security Driver Association (ISDA) offers several resources worth considering.
One option is to sign up for the ISDA’s LinkedIn Newsletter, “Security Driver Journal,” a twice-monthly educational email publication that contains articles written specifically for the Security Driver/Secure Transportation community. This resource provides continuing education and benchmark research to help improve your skillset and advance your business.
Another resource is the ISDA’s YouTube channel, which features playlists containing videos covering topics such as Case Studies of Vehicle Attacks, Security Driving, Armored Vehicles, and the Business of Security.
Those interested in connecting with other professionals in the industry can also follow the ISDA’s LinkedIn page, which provides educational content on various topics related to Security Driving and Secure Transportation, including Armored Vehicles, Secure Transportation Business Metrics and Data, Surveillance Detection, The Change in Executive Vehicles, and Case Studies, Including Lessons Learned.
Lastly, visitors can check out the ISDA Store for hats, t-shirts, decals, and other merchandise related to the organization and secure transportation.