Facebook has reportedly spent $16 million on Mark Zuckerberg’s security

Facebook has spent more than $16 million protecting Mark Zuckerberg and his family in just five years after ‘specific threats’ to the 31-year-old.

The firm, according to Daily Mail report, disclosed the staggering amount spent on security for Zuckerberg – the fourth richest person in the world – in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.

It reveals that, in 2015, $5 million was invested in bodyguards and other protective services to ensure the safety of its founder and CEO.

The substantial sum is in fact a mark down from the $6.2 million spent on his security in 2014.

Mark Zuckerberg had $5 million spent on his security in 2015, $6.2m in 2014, and $3.3m in 2013. Zuckerberg, who is worth $35.7 billion, has 16 bodyguards working on rotation to protect him; In February he was pictured jogging through the streets of Berlin with some of them

Also protected: Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has a security package worth $1.2 million – roughly the same amount as CEOs of rival tech companies and much more than Apple’s Tim Cook, who has $209,000 security

Also protected: Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has a security package worth $1.2 million – roughly the same amount as CEOs of rival tech companies and much more than Apple’s Tim Cook, who has $209,000 security

The year before, he had $3.3 million-worth of security.

Millions have also been spent on private travel, as well installing alarms in his $10 million home in San Francisco’s well-heeled Mission District.

Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, also received an above-average security package: the firm issued $1.2 million worth of security measures to protect her last year.

In contrast, Apple spent just $209,000 on CEO Tim Cook’s security last year.

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison was portioned $1.5 million to secure his home in 2015.

Amazon spent $1.6 million on Jeff Bezos’s security in 2015.

Zuckerberg, who is worth $35.7 billion, has 16 bodyguards working on rotation to protect him, his wife Priscilla, and their daughter Maxima.

Though he famously earns a $1-a-year salary, he owns nearly 422 million shares of Facebook stock, which rakes in his millions.

His security entourage has enraged his neighbors, who wrote an open letter in January slamming his guards for taking up space in the residential street.
A letter written by neighbors and obtained by Buzzfeed was distributed to residents of Liberty Hill, a neighborhood adjacent to Dolores Park.

The letter claimed that Zuckerberg’s security team is ‘permanently’ and ‘illegally’ occupying ‘desirable parking spots’ in the area with two silver SUVs.

It urged neighbors to complain to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) about the vehicles and contact Zuckerberg’s ‘residential security manager’, Tim Wenzel.

‘I think we’ve all tried to be as patient and civil as possible during the very long construction, the noise, the trash, the blocking of streets, etc,’ the letter began.

It continues: ‘Now that all that circus is done, we are left with 2 silver SUV’s permanently occupying desirable parking spots.

‘It goes without saying that living close to Dolores Park and the awesome neighboring districts already creates a challenge when it comes to street parking, so the 2 spots that are illegally being held for Zuck only makes matters worse.’

Facebook maintains there are ‘specific threats’ against the CEO that warrant such a scale of protection.

Millions have also been spent on alarms in his $10 million home in San Francisco’s well-heeled Mission District
‘Because of the high visibility of our company, our compensation & governance committee has authorized an “overall security program” for Mr. Zuckerberg to address safety concerns due to specific threats to his safety arising directly as a result of his position as our founder, Chairman, and CEO,’ it reads.

‘We require these security measures for the company’s benefit because of the importance of Mr. Zuckerberg to Facebook, and we believe that the costs of this overall security program are appropriate and necessary.’

The 31-year-old was the subject of an ISIS threat video earlier this year, which featured his face littered with bullet holes. Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s CEO, also appeared in the video.

It is not clear whether this video is one of the threats that has driven Facebook to pour millions into Zuckerberg’s security detail.

In the 25-minute video, the militants claim they control more than 10,000 Facebook accounts and 150 Facebook groups – and warn they will retaliate to any attempt to drive them off the sites.

The threat came after both Zuckerberg announced an intense push against terrorist users on their social networks.

Facebook has vowed to follow Twitter’s example in shutting down accounts that have terrorist links.

Sheryl Sandberg also called on users to ‘attack’ any terrorist-linked posts with ‘likes’.

(The News)

Mark Zuckerberg back in Nigeria, meets Pres. Buhari, Osinbajo (photos)

Mark Zuckerberg is back in Nigeria, just two days after he left. He's currently in Abuja where he is attending the finale of the Aso Rock Demo day. He's since finished a closed door meeting with president Buhari

Mark Zuckerberg's visit gives Nigerian startups much-needed boost

 

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's visit to Nigeria, his first to sub-Saharan Africa, has put the country's tech businesses firmly in the world's spotlight.

Zuckerberg staged a surprise visit to the country's economic capital Lagos on Tuesday and his first stop was a local innovation center and tech hub in Yaba, an area on the mainland of Lagos known as Nigeria's Silicon Valley.

There was no fanfare amid tight security and some of those working at the Co-Creation Hub, called CcHUB, didn't even know Zuckerberg was coming.

He appeared nervous, a little startled even, as he launched into an impromptu speech about why he was there. 

He said: "This is my first trip to sub-Saharan Africa. I'll be meeting with developers and entrepreneurs, and learning about the startup ecosystem in Nigeria. The energy here is amazing and I'm excited to learn as much as I can."

At the CcHUB, he talked to children at a summer coding camp and entrepreneurs who visit the center to build and launch their apps. 

 

Zuckerberg thrilled Nigerians by walking around the streets of Lagos without any signs of armed guards or heavy security. He was also spotted jogging on the Lekki Bridge Wednesday morning. 

Figures released Wednesday show Nigeria has officially dipped into recession as its second quarter GDP fell by more than 2% compared to last year.

However, running a business in the country has always been tough for young entrepreneurs such as Bosun Tijani and Femi Longe, who co-founded the hub Zuckerberg visited in 2011.

Successful startups in Nigeria thrive against the odds of weak infrastructure, anemic power supply and general lack of funding and investment.

Tijani told CNN that Zuckerberg's visit would give Nigeria's fledgling startup scene the shot in the arm it desperately needs.

"By coming here first, he's given a lot of hope to young people here," Tijani said.

He added that entrepreneurs like Zuckerberg were inspiring because his approach to Facebook has never been about making a lot of money.

"It's been about creating something that's going to change the world and obviously if you do that, you are bound to reap the benefit," Tijani said.

Idris Ayodeji Bello, an 'afropreneur' and angel investor from Nigeria, said, "Mark's visit was a much needed external validation of the sweat and immense efforts, mostly unsung, of the young Nigerians who have kept at it. And it was heartwarming to see all the attention his visit got, even from some young people who are rarely excited by much beyond music and entertainment."

Like a lot of entrepreneurs on the continent, the founders of CcHUB have been quietly plugging away before catching the attention of one of the world's biggest tech founders.

Zuckerberg singled out their business because of their proven track record in building and incubating startups that tackle the country's myriad social issues such as Lifebank, an app that locates available blood supplies and delivers it to  

Another entrepreneur who met Zuckerberg was Adebayo Adegbembo, who runs Genii games, a platform to make it easier for kids to learn about African culture both in Nigeria and the diaspora. He said Zuckerberg learned a few words of Yoruba and spoke of his love of languages.

"To have Mark show that kind of interest in us is a huge stamp of approval," Adegbembo said. 

Tijani and his business partner had a vision of creating a tech business district and persuaded the government and a local cable provider to install fiber optic cables on their street providing affordable and fast Wi-Fi access to anyone within the hub's vicinity.

When they started there were five tech businesses, now there are 60 and the area attracts an increasing number of entrepreneurs. 

During a Q& A streamed live on Facebook on Wednesday, Zuckerberg talked about plans to make the company's tools and apps more affordable for SMEs in the country.  

He added that he was proud of recently putting the Hausa language, largely spoken in northern Nigeria, on the platform and revealed plans to expand to other Nigerian languages.

Nigeria is the largest market in Africa for Facebook; 16 million Nigerians using the platform monthly, with 7 million logging onto the site daily: 97% of them on mobile, according to figures from the network.

Zuckerberg has also made no secret of his interest in Nigerian startups and other African tech industries.

In June, he invested millions of dollars in a Lagos-based startup called Andela via the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and in May he launched Free Basics, a partnership with a local telecoms provider, which allows people to browse websites for free, a very appealing prospect in a country where data prices can be prohibitively high. Although, it is not without controversy as critics have said it violates the central tenets of net neutrality, which stipulate that all Internet content and users should be treated equally. Cherry-picking free content isn't considered fair or right, according to the critics.

But it appears to be more than just the numbers stacking up for Facebook and Zuckerberg. He has said he is in the country to listen and learn and take ideas back to California on how to support businesses across the continent. He's also very interested in the creative partnerships and in exploring where tech and creativity intersect.

While in Lagos, he met with leading figures in Nigeria's Nollywood film industry and talked about how the burgeoning industry could be a huge revenue driver for the country. He said: "One of the things I am most excited about my trip to Lagos is going to check out Nollywood. Nollywood sounds like a national treasure and the ability to produce video content that is moving and emotional transcends boundaries and will help tell stories of the amazing innovation, engineering and culture to the whole world."

 

 

Stephanie Linus, RMD, Rita Dominic, Basketmouth, Chidinma, Yemi Alade, others meet Mark Zuckerberg (photos)

Billionaire Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg met with Nollywood celebs and Media Personalities in Lagos, today August 31st. Richard Mofe-Damijo, Chidinma, Tolu 'Toolz' Oniru-Demuren, Kunle Afolayan, Basketmouth, Rita Dominic, Yemi Alade, Florence 'DJ Cupoy' Otedola, Stephanie Okereke-Linus and others were present.

More photos..

Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg Visits Nigeria

Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg makes a stop in Lagos on his first trip to sub-Saharan Africa.

The social network founder said he would be meeting with developers, entrepreneurs and learning about the start-up ecosystem in Nigeria.

“The energy here is amazing and I’m excited to learn as much as I can,” Mark said on his Facebook page where he announced his arrival.

“Our first stop is the Co-creation Hub Nigeria (CcHUB) in Yaba [a community in Lagos State].

“I got to talk to kids at a summer coding camp and entrepreneurs who come to CcHub to build and launch their apps.

“I’m looking forward to meeting more people here,” he added.

Mark Zuckerberg Sells $95 Million Of Facebook Shares For Charitable Causes

 

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan (Photo: Adam Berry/Getty Images)

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have started to make good on their pledge to give away 99% of their wealth to public-interest causes. On Wednesday and Thursday, the couple’s two vehicles for charitable giving and impact investing—the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation and CZI Holdings LLC—sold Facebook shares worth nearly $95 million before taxes, according to a regulatory filing on Friday.

The sales likely netted more than $85 million after capital gains taxes, which CZI Holdings must pay because it is a limited liability company rather than a nonprofit foundation.

The couple announced their plans to give 99% of their Facebook shares to social causes in a Facebook post in December, the same month their daughter, Max, was born. At the time, their stock holdings were worth $45 billion.

To fulfill their pledge, the pair formed the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which intends to fund charities, companies and policies that “advance human potential and promote equality.” The organization will initially focus on improving education, curing disease, and strengthening communities, according to its website. The venture’s first investment, in June 2016, was in Andela, a startup that trains African engineers for jobs in the tech industry. Zuckerberg’s spokesperson declined to specify what the cash netted in this week’s transactions will fund.

The couple plans to sell or give away no more than $1 billion-worth of stock each year through 2018, according to the regulatory filing.

FORBES estimates that Zuckerberg has a fortune worth $53.3 billion.

After two years, Yahoo wanted to buy Facebook for $1billion

Mark Zuckerberg has led Facebook to become one of the most valuable and respected companies in the world. But despite all of his successes, he rarely talks about the challenges he's faced along the way.

 

In a new interview with Y Combinator president Sam Altman, published on Tuesday, Zuckerberg showed a more vulnerable side when he discussed some of the low points in Facebook's early history, as well as some of his failings.

"One of the hardest parts for me was when Yahoo offered to buy the company for a lot of money," Zuckerberg said. "That was the turning point in the company."

That was 2006. Facebook was about 2-years-old and had 10 million users. Yahoo wanted the company for $1 billion.

Although a lot of people believed Facebook should take the offer, Zuckerberg said he and co-founder Dustin Moskovitz ultimately decided to keep growing the business on their own terms.

"The part that was painful wasn't turning down the offer," he said. "It was the fact that after that, huge amounts of the company quit because they didn't believe in what we were doing."

Facebook's whole management team was gone within a year.

Zuckerberg placed the blame on himself for the exodus.

"I think the fact that I didn't communicate very well about what we were trying to do caused this huge tension," he said. "A lot of folks who joined early on... weren't really aligned with me. ... Being able to sell a [startup] for $1 billion after a couple of years -- that was like a home run [for them]...."

During the 25-minute video interview, Altman also prompted Zuckerberg to explain how Facebook decides which products to test and build.

The Facebook CEO highlighted how it uses a combination of a scientific method -- testing different hypotheses -- and user feedback and data analysis, but added that it wasn't always enough. Facebook's $2 billion acquisition of Oculus in 2014 is proof.

"I actually view that as -- if we'd done a better job of building up some of the expertise to do some of that stuff internally then maybe we wouldn't have had to do that," said Zuckerberg. "We bought the Oculus team for a lot of money ... as CEO, it's your job to not get in a position where you need to be doing these crazy things."

But he conceded that over the course of time, big bets like this will have to be made.

"It's inevitable," said Zuckerberg. "You can't be ahead of everything."