CEO jet mandates are becoming more common. Here's what companies are spending

Corporate spending on executive security, private aviation, and personal drivers has climbed for four straight years with no sign of slowing

Michael Nagle / Bloomberg via Getty Images

The median reported value of personal aircraft use for S&P 100 CEOs rose from $129,000 in 2021 to $210,000 in 2024, according to compensation consulting firm FW Cook's 2025 Executive Perquisites Report. Median security spending climbed from $75,000 to $111,000 over the same period. These are the disclosed costs, reported as perquisites in proxy filings, and they represent the low end of what companies are paying to keep their top executives insulated from the public.

The numbers look different at the top. Meta $META spent more than $27 million in 2024 to protect CEO Mark Zuckerberg, up from $24 million in 2023, according to a Financial Times analysis of proxy filings. Blackstone reported the highest total security spending among S&P 500 companies in 2025 at $13.5 million, according to Equilar research. Lockheed Martin $LMT increased its security spending 798% in a single year, from $149,069 to $1,338,056, according to Equilar's analysis published on the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance.

The trend is broad and accelerating. It also informs Starbucks $SBUX' decision to let CEO Brian Niccol use the company's private jet for all travel, including personal trips, and dedicate $1 million to security in 2025.

The prevalence of security perks has doubled

The data is consistent across multiple sources: More companies are providing........

© Quartz