The Wall Street Journal reported on the significant uptick in focus on executive security measures since the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO in December 2024, which is associated with the following developments and practice trends:
Prevalence—The prevalence of S&P 500 companies disclosing executive security-related perks increased 6% year-over-year through the end of fiscal 2024 (based on 2025 proxy filings), and from 24% in fiscal 2020 to 34.1% in fiscal 2024.
Execution—Changes in practice include bolstering the in-house security function, including family members (spouses and children) in security briefings, continuous threat monitoring, and increased information-sharing across business units/departments.
Value—The median spend on executive security measures between fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2024 nearly doubled among the S&P 500 from $61,000 to $112,000, respectively.