Facebook Spent $23 Million to Keep Mark Zuckerberg Safe Last Year

Facebook more than doubled the money it spent on Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg's security in 2018 to $22.6 million (roughly Rs. 156 crores), a regulatory filing showed on Friday.

Zuckerberg has drawn a base salary of $1 (roughly Rs. 69) for the past three years, and his "other" compensation was listed at $22.6 million, most of which was for his personal security.

Nearly $20 million went towards security for Zuckerberg and his family, up from about $9 million (roughly Rs. 62 crores) the year prior. Zuckerberg also received $2.6 million (roughly Rs. 18 crores) for personal use of private jets, which the company said was part of his overall security programme.

Facebook has in the past few years faced public outcry over its role in Russia's alleged influence on the 2016 US presidential election and has come under fire following revelations that Cambridge Analytica obtained personal data from millions of Facebook profiles without consent. 

Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg took home $23.7 million (roughly Rs. 164 crores) in 2018 compared to $25.2 million (roughly Rs. 174 crores) last year.

Separately, Facebook said Netflix Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings would vacate his seat on the social media company's board and not be nominated for re-election.

Hastings' departure comes as the Menlo Park-based company beefs up its push into videos. Hastings has served on Facebook's board since 2011.

The company also said it would nominate PayPal's senior vice president of core markets, Peggy Alford, to its board in place of University of North Carolina President Emeritus Erskine Bowles, who will also not be re-nominated.

Facebook shares closed at $179.07 (roughly Rs. 12,400) Friday evening.

© Thomson Reuters 2019