Elon Musk regularly receives death threats, which is why he has protection like a head of state, the New York Times reported in its Friday edition. The scope of his bodyguards' activities can be compared to a small intelligence agency.
Musk uses celebrity security firm Gavin de Becker & Associates, among others, but he has also created his own company called Foundation Security. The billionaire, who used to have just two bodyguards, now travels with a 20-person team that checks buildings for escape routes and rooms before Musk enters them.
His bodyguards often carry weapons and are accompanied by a doctor. Most of the agents protecting the billionaire at Gavin de Becker & Associates come from the military.
By comparison, Warren E. Buffett, the investment guru whose net worth is estimated at $145 billion, employed a single bodyguard for many years. Twitter founder Jack Dorsey has been spotted in San Francisco without any bodyguards on numerous occasions.
Musk spends a fortune on security
In the first two months of 2024 alone, Musk's Tesla paid $500,000 for its boss's safety.
Apple paid $820,000 last year for protection for its CEO Tim Cook, but Amazon spent more than $1.5 million on the security of its founder Jeff Bezos during the same period.
The services of Gavin de Becker & Associates have been used by Bezos and singer Cher, among others. Its founder Gavin de Becker created, among others, a system for assessing the safety of employees of the American justice system and high-ranking officials CIAHe has also written books on public safety and teaches at the University of California, Los Angeles.
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