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Compensation Advisory Partners (CAP) reviewed proxy statement disclosures of 90 US large-cap companies with fiscal years ending between March and November 2025 to understand executive security-related perk practices and trends following the December 2024 fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The report notes that the upward trend in CEO security perquisites was already underway prior to the incident and has continued at a similar pace.
CAP’s assessment of CEO personal security disclosures over the past three fiscal years reveals a steady increase in prevalence from 30.0% in 2023 to 37.8% in 2024 and 44.4% in 2025, a rise of 14.4 percentage points over the three-year period. No companies in the sample eliminated CEO security perks during this period.
According to the report, disclosed CEO security perks commonly include a mix of the following as part of a formal risk-based executive security program:
- Residential security measures (e.g., alarm systems, surveillance, monitoring)
- Executive protection personnel (event-based or ongoing)
- Secure ground transportation arrangements
- Security support during domestic and international travel
- Digital or information security services
Personal use of corporate aircraft—frequently linked to executive security programs—also increased in prevalence, rising from 38.9% in 2023 to 44.4% in 2025, a rise of 5.5 percentage points over that time period. Notably, all companies that newly disclosed a CEO aircraft perk in 2025 cited security-related considerations, while all companies that eliminated the perk did so in connection with a CEO transition, with the incoming CEO not receiving the benefit.
While the median value of both CEO security perks and CEO aircraft perks declined year-over-year (2025 compared to 2024), a majority of companies (72% and 60%, respectively) reported increases and average values rose. CAP notes that these patterns may reflect the influence of high-cost outliers and the episodic nature of certain security-related expenses, such as upfront installation costs for residential security systems.
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