Keeping Mark Zuckerberg Safe Doesn't Come Cheap

It takes a whole lot of money to keep the fourth richest person in the US safe, CNET reports. According to Quartz—citing a regulatory filing made Wednesday—Facebook paid $4.26 million last year to keep founder Mark Zuckerberg safe. That was actually down from 2014, when the company paid $5.6 million for his "overall security program." That program includes personal security for Zuckerberg and his homes—he owns multiple properties in Palo Alto and Hawaii. All told, Facebook spent $16 million on protecting Zuckerberg over the past five years. (That total also includes private air travel for Zuckerberg.)

Facebook claims the security is necessary as "specific threats" have been made against Zuckerberg. “He is synonymous with Facebook and, as a result, malicious and negative sentiment regarding the company or its products is directly associated with, and often transferred to, Mr. Zuckerberg,” Quartz quotes Facebook's lawyers as saying. Still, the amount paid to protect Zuckerberg is high, even for billionaire tech geniuses. Amazon only paid $1.6 million for Jeff Bezos' security in 2015. (More Mark Zuckerberg stories.)