Apple is taking its chief executive's security seriously, cashing out nearly $700,000 per year just to keep Tim Cook safe. And if you think that is too much for one guy, other tech companies spend more.
Patently Apple got a copy of Apple's "Schedule 14A" report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and stumbled upon this information. "This amount represents: (i) the Company's contributions to Mr. Cook's account under its 401(k) plan in the amount of $15,600; (ii) Company-paid term life insurance premiums in the amount of $2,520; (iii) vacation cash-out in the amount of $56,923; and (iv) security expenses in the amount of $699,133," the report says.
CEO security is a serious matter for tech companies, losing them could wreck the financial health of the companies they are handling. Fortune.com did a run-down of the security costs of other tech companies for us to realize that Cook's security price tag isn't as steep as we think.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' protection is worth $1.6 million, former Oracle CEO Larry Ellison's was $1.5 million, Disney CEO Bob Iger's is $584,075, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffet's is $385,606, and FedEX CEO Fred Smith's is $320,428. Those costs do not include the safety expenses when these company heads choose to travel outside the country. Amazon did not disclose how its CEO's protection turned out to be the highest, but Oracle said that cost includes the CEO's home security system and security personnel.
As for Apple CEO Tim Cook's safety cost, the company wrote in the filing obtained by Digital Trends that the company "provides home and personal security for Mr. Cook because his personal safety and security are of the utmost importance to the Company and its shareholders. The Company considers the security measures to be a reasonable and necessary expense for the benefit of the Company."
