The targeted murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024 has put the business world on alert. Companies are increasing security for founders and CEOs, with Meta leading in spending to protect Mark Zuckerberg. Other major tech firms like Alphabet, Amazon, and Coinbase also saw security costs rise significantly.

The big question remains about how much is being spent to protect Elon Musk, who owns Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI. While Tesla disclosed $500,000 spent on Musk’s security in 2024, his other companies did not disclose figures. Musk also owns his own security company, Foundation Security, run by a former Army Special Forces weapons sergeant.

While some companies have increased security spending for CEOs, others have scaled back. For example, Nvidia increased spending to protect CEO Jensen Huang, while Apple decreased spending for Tim Cook. Companies like Amazon, Palo Alto Networks, and JPMorgan Chase also saw changes in their security costs for their top executives.

The number of businesses protecting their CEOs is on the rise, with 34.4% of companies in the S&P 500 offering executive security in 2024 compared to 28.2% in 2023. Median spending increased by 6% overall, with an average of $105,749. Some companies declined to disclose their security costs but indicated increased protection measures for their CEOs as risks continue to grow.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: Meta spent $27 million protecting Mark Zuckerberg last year, more than any other CEO