Facebook founder-CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s compensation totaled $25.3 million last year but that was almost all for security – he continued to take a base salary of $1 — reflecting his role as founder and CEO of a company that’s polarized public opinion.
The “all other compensation” category, usually minimal for most corporate executives, included more than $23 million for personal security at his residences and during travel for himself and his family. Base security costs rose to $13.4 million from $10.4 million in 2019, according the company’s proxy filed Friday with the SEC. Zuckerberg also received an extra $10 million pre-tax pot to put towards additional personnel, equipment, services, residential improvements, or other security-related costs.
The proxy said assessments conducted at least once a year have “identified specific threats to Mr. Zuckerberg as a result of the high-profile nature of being our founder, CEO, Chairman, and controlling shareholder.”
“We believe that Mr. Zuckerberg’s role puts him in a unique position: he is synonymous with Facebook and, as a result, negative sentiment regarding our company is directly associated with, and often transferred to, Mr. Zuckerberg. Mr. Zuckerberg is one of the most-recognized executives in the world, in large part as a result of the size of our user base and our continued exposure to global media, legislative, and regulatory attention,” it said.
COO Sheryl Sandberg earned $22.5 million in 2020, up from $24.7 million the year before, including a base salary of $918,000 stock awards of $14.4 million and “all other compensation” of $8.5 million, which also included $7.6 million for security.
She received a $476,953 bonus for the second half, reflecting “the continuation of her strategic leadership in the wake of the global pandemic, including strong revenue performance and support of small businesses and partnership development, as well as overall leadership of internal operations, including privacy, policy, and diversity.”