Apple boosted personal security for CEO Tim Cook in 2014

Apple spent $699,133 on personal security for chief executive Tim Cook in 2014, the company disclosed yesterday — the first time Apple has acknowledged spending any such money to protect him.

The expenditure was included in Apple’s latest proxy filing, which reported that Cook’s total compensation for the year was $9.2 million. The security spending fell under the category of “other compensation,” which for Cook rose to $774,176 in the fiscal year ending September 2014, up from $52,721 in 2013, and $17,274 in 2012.

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In a footnote to the “other” category, Apple simply says the category includes “security expenses in the amount of $699,133.” The company made no such disclosures in the past two years.

Also for the first time, the company includes a brief explanation of the security measures in the proxy filing:

“In addition, the Company generally does not provide perquisites to its officers that are not available to employees generally. Although the Company does not consider it to be a perquisite for his benefit, the Company provides home and personal security for Mr. Cook because his personal safety and security are of the utmost importance to the Company and its shareholders. The Company considers the security measures to be a reasonable and necessary expense for the benefit of the Company.”

Of course, there’s no additional information on what led to the need for Cook’s security. And it’s possible such security measures were in place previously but not disclosed for some reason.

If indeed Cook and the company felt he needed more security last year, there’s no way to know why for sure. It’s worth noting, of course, that Cook attracted a lot of attention for an essay he wrote for Businessweek that confirmed publicly that he is gay.

But it should also be noted that such security arrangements are not unusual for executives across many industries, including tech.

Oracle’s Larry Ellison, for instance, has long received substantial protection at home and when he travels, typically with bodyguards. Last year, Oracle paid $1,530,610 for his security. And the company provided this explanation in its last proxy filing:

“Our Board of Directors has established a residential security program for the protection of Mr. Ellison requiring him to have a home security system at his primary residence, including security personnel. We require these security measures for Oracle’s benefit because of Mr. Ellison’s importance to Oracle, and we believe these security costs are appropriate and necessary business expenses. Mr. Ellison paid for the initial procurement, installation and maintenance of the equipment for this system, and we pay for the annual costs of security personnel. The Independence Committee reviews and approves the security personnel budget of this residential security program each year.”

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Beyond security, it appears Cook is also not one for taking much vacation. Last year, he cashed out $56,923 worth of vacation time, and the previous year he cashed out $35,000 of vacation time.