Tim Cook’s security costs Apple $700,000 a year
Be it a politician, a famous celebrity or a popular business tycoon, they all need security to protect themselves. Well, Apple thinks no different and is not taking chances with its CEO’s security.
Tim Cook, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the world’s most profitable technology company, Apple Inc. is a very important man. As a result, Apple is willing to pay a massive $700,000 (about £450,000 /Rs.44.687,965) per year to protect and keep Tim Cook safe.
Patently Apple found the staggering figure of $700,000 in the company’s Schedule 14A form recently filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In the full section in question, this was under a title heading called “All Other Compensation.”
The report notes: “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.”
Providing clarification regarding the expenses on Tim Cook’s security later in the report, Apple explained that it does not normally provide “prerequisites to its officers that aren’t available to employees”. Apple apparently provides both home and personal security for Cook, because his security and personal safety are of the “utmost importance to the company and its shareholders”.
All these numbers does not seem ridiculous, when you consider Amazon spent around $1.6 million for security arrangements of Jeff Bezos in 2013. Larry Ellison, the former CEO of Oracle, had a security and safety fund that cost the company about $1.5 million annually, with much of that going toward security costs at his home. The upper limit of the bodyguard pay scale as estimated by many of the analysts is around $120,000 each year.
If we consider the amount of Apple is investing in Tim Cook’s security, at any given point of time, he would have no less than five personal security officers by his side. If we practically think, may be all of this money is not necessarily being used for body guards only. Many times, large companies spend money on surveillance cameras and home security systems for their executives as well as body guards.
Given the profits that Apple makes each year, the $700,000 that the company spends on Tim Cook’s security looks like a very meager amount. This fiscal year Apple is all set to report $53 billion profit.
