The Advisors' Blog

WTW evaluated S&P 500 proxy statement disclosures related to CEO security spend in 2025, comparing data to prior years. Not surprisingly, the report cites increased prevalence, but a decrease in median value. The “relatively low costs” of these programs cited below may largely be due to the time of year they were implemented, so this data may change significantly once 2025 spending is reported.

The median value of security services for CEOs in 2024 was approximately $80,000, down from approximately $94,000 in 2023. The rise in prevalence but drop in median value in 2024 likely were related, as there was an influx of newly established programs with relatively low costs by end of year. Among 25 companies that reported they had established security services for the CEO in the past year and disclosed an associated value; the median was just $54,630.

Spend varied greatly depending on company size and CEO profile.

Unsurprisingly, corporations with the largest revenue were most likely to report security benefits. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of S&P 500 companies with revenue of more than $30 billion provided their CEO with security services (up from 53% in 2023). Conversely, just 16% of companies with less than $6 billion in revenue did the same, up from only 9% in the prior year.

Also, sectors with a concentration of high-profile CEOs are more likely to provide security services. Sixty percent of S&P 500 communication-sector CEOs received security services — the largest percentage of the group. Healthcare saw the biggest jump in the number of CEOs in our study receiving enhanced protection in 2024, with 40% receiving services (up from 25% in 2023). Similarly, the IT sector grew from 30% to 42%, with both the communication and IT sectors reporting median values of more than $100,000 in 2024.

Types of security services included:

– Physical or general protection
– Transportation-related services (e.g., car and driver)
– Home and residential security (installation and maintenance of equipment & monitoring services)
– Cybersecurity or identity theft protection
– Personal use of corporate aircraft (reported separately, but often required or encouraged due to secuity concerns)

– Meredith Ervine