He s oozing Southern charm. He s likely to show up in skinny jeans and a slightly wrinkled untucked-in shirt. And his company coughs up nearly $700,000 a year to keep him out of harm s way.
We re talking Tim Cook, the Man of the Moment in Silicon Valley. As Apple CEO, he s not only head of the world s most valuable company, he also inhabits the skin of one of the world s most valuable human beings.
According to Patently Apple, who uncovered the figure from Apple s Schedule 14A report with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the Mobile, Alabama-native is worth one pretty penny when it comes to personal protection:
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)
That s not to say that Cook is Top Dog when it comes to laying on the security. Some of his fellow tech CEOs enjoy even pricier protection, according to an article in Fortune earlier this year. The magazine analyzed Fortune 100 data in the 2014 Benefits and Perquisites Report by Equilar and you ll never guess which CEO had top billing in that department.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, you say? Oh. Well, I guess you did guess.
The $1.6 million Amazon paid in 2013 to guard Bezos at work and on the road makes Cook s $700,000 seem downright stingy, doesn t it? According to the document Fortune pored over, the $1.6 million
represents the approximate aggregate incremental cost to Amazon.com of security arrangements for Mr. Bezos in addition to security arrangements provided at business facilities and for business travel. We believe that all company-incurred security costs are reasonable and necessary and for the company s benefit.
Then there s Oracle s former CEO Larry Ellison, now serving as executive chairman and chief technology officer. In an SEC filing, Oracle said it paid $1.5 million on security for Ellison and his residence. Yup. This is the same guy who s made the front page many times over the years for his multi-million-dollar real-estate purchases. And according to the SEC document, the $1.5 million in money well spent: We require these security measures for Oracle s benefit because of Mr. Ellison s importance to Oracle, and we believe these security costs are appropriate and necessary business expenses.
Credit: SiliconBeat
