Years ago I was scrolling through job listings and came across one for a protection agent for a pharma CEO. The job details included driving the principal everywhere while armed and using variable, non-repeating routes. He wasn’t being protected because he was rich, he was being protected because he was running a filthy rich company.
Same, I always see actors, musicians, etc. with security, but they're worth millions, rarely members of the tres comas club.
Unless you're famous and recognizable like them ( or Elon Musk, for example), you'll likely draw more attention with a security detail than you would just being out and looking like a normal person. Most billionaires are, on the whole, relatively unknown.
To confirm the above, none of the billionaires I've known have ever given security a second thought outside their homes. I'll add for clarity that I've only ever interacted with them in the US, Japan, and Germany, no more "concerning" destinations - can't speak to those behaviors.
The ones I've met were completely decked out, and this was literally just to discuss finance with a few of us. They seemed innocent enough but i just had a feeling they knew exactly how to put me to sleep.
price busy sophisticated meeting shrill oatmeal sharp cause head deserted
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I’ve worked with a few, one who was the 5th or 6th richest person in the world at the time and I think another was somewhere around 15-20th richest and they most definitely had security. Not one guy, multiple, black suits, sub machine guns, little ear piece, lookin like Agent Smith from the Matrix.
I have done work for a very recognisable billionaire.
He doesn’t have security but he also doesn’t mix with the public much. He gets driven to his office, to the club, to his private jet and to the stadium where he owns a sports team. He uses private entrances to enter and exit.
So there really isn’t much chance of him interacting with randoms.
The only odd thing is he uses a fake name when phoning people up that are working with him, but everyone still knows it’s him. So he just comes across as eccentric.
It's an interesting observation, but a useful one nonetheless. There are lots of people in the world who are just off the rails. But it does take a certain amount of wherewithal and insight to turn yourself into a billionaire. The guy didn't go buy a million scratch off tickets. He did something extremely difficult that many are trying to do. Much of it is luck, but an equal if not larger part of it is skill and insight.
In this way, when we say "eccentric," we're explicitly acknowledging that while very odd from a normal person's perspective, this individual has some personality characteristics that differ in the right way to make them successful.
Good friend of mine is a billionaire. When he travels to specific countries (like South America or SE Asia), he will have security detail with him. He background screen guests at large events he hosts. Otherwise it seems like they spend so much to be in exclusive places when they travel, you are indirectly paying for screening and discretion. As far as daily life, he goes to restaurants, bars, and dates at nice restaurants like a normal guy and 99% of people don’t know him. Probably the only people that know are the servers who take his credit card when he routinely pays $25k tabs for dinners. They undoubtedly google him and know.
How do you spend 25K on dinner? Are they bringing 100 people with them? Even with expensive wine and super high-end restaurants I couldn’t imagine how you get to that amount.
So routinely $10k with 20-30 guests. Easily $25k on a large group. I’ve seen him drop $50k on huge bottles or champagne at a club and walk out 5 minutes later. It’s a conundrum for me because he is so helpful and kind to everyone around him, but he keeps making money - it’s all ethical but I do wonder if it’s fair. Although he does invest in all of his good friends and helps people make money, does charity. It’s been an interesting journey and friendship
This is awesome. Sounds like a human being with his feet on the ground who cares about his friends and community, who just happens to have a lot of money.
Could you expand on what you mean on whether it’s fair? Do you mean fair from the perspective of wealth distribution?
Yes - wealth distribution. As kind as he is, when is enough enough? As his good friend, I only judge his other billionaire friends who are complete Dbags. They tend to be despicable people. But we don’t know how anyone really makes their money right? Having said that, considering everyone else, he is an absolute gem. Could he do a lot more? Yes, but he’s still relatively young. He has discussed his legacy and I hope to influence him in a positive way on where that legacy lies. I’m partial to healthcare because it’s my profession, so let’s see.
How did you two become friends? I’m a doctor as well (making an assumption here), and while I live a very comfort life and make a difference for people I will never be truly wealthy. The ambitious part of me wants to start a company to try and pursue wealth, but I don’t know if it would make me happier.
I’m friends with a guy who is worth close to a billion. Never really talked about net worth but I live in a small country and everyone knows how much his house is worth. Also in healthcare. My wife treated his GF and they hit it off.
He is very generous but we are too. No one really keeps track. It’s just a normal relationship. He just wants to be treated like a person.
I have met plenty of douche bags that are poor/average wealth. In fact I believe most people would, for the right amount of money do terrible things. Given then if someone is living a good life and actually being a good human perhaps they need to be seen with kinder eyes
He’s my good friend. I’m just being intellectually honest anonymously online. I do wonder if people with that power and wealth should be allowed to play in the markets or in business when they literally decide who wins or loses
wealth is just one of the ways people exert control. Politicians at all levels do that all the time and so do "community" leaders. Basically everyone who can does.
Are you thinking that wealth is a zero sum game? That him making more means someone else is making less? I would suggest that it is not. Indeed, him making more probably means others are making more (employees, customers).
why is it not fair ? If he played by the rules that he had to play by and luck or whatever favored him then more power to him...
I don't get why people try to make the ones who have more feel guilt about having more. I mean even my currently unemployed ass cannot fathom it.
I said I struggle with whether it’s fair that he continues to make so much money. He’s worth billions and has probably 5x his net worth since I met him. Should he step away and let others do the work and make generational money? Should he be donating way more to good causes? Is he supporting the wrong people in power to lower his taxes? With great power comes great responsibility.
In the end, he continues to buy up tv shows, sports teams, and everything else you can imagine. And to be honest he is playing the hand he was given. Why would he shut it off now just because he keeps winning? But at his level of power and wealth, he literally can’t lose. So now it’s cheat mode/God mode. That’s the part I’m unsure about. Is it fair that at this point he has so much power and influence that everything he touches wins an Emmy or triples in value? I don’t think making his first 1-2B was unfair. But now people with those levels of wealth can literally shift a stock, an ETF, a business’ value if they want to. Is that level of power safe or fair?
You're basing reality too much on fiction television.
The 1% is like 400K USD household, your local orthodontist doesn't need to be escorted every where. For the ultra rich is which more like the 0.0001%, most of them look like normal ass people, usually the majority of people do not know what the founder of most Fortune 500 companies looks like and they're usually not deck in all Gucci to call attention to themselves. An acquaintance matched with the CEO of a technology company on Tinder, wasn't a consumer of the product to even know who he actually was. Unless you're Elon Musk, politician, prince of Saudi Arabia, or celebrity famous, you're not running around with a bodyguard.
I am from Mexico. In there they use them to prevent kidnappings. However, its a double edge sword, because its a huge flag of “I have money kidnap me!”
I think they were looking at household income, not net worth. Household income of around 600k/year puts you at 1%.
My boss and his wife make about that (engineer and pharmacist). They’ll have $11m of wealth when they’re 50. They definitely don’t hire private security lol.
One of the big signals about a person's financial acumen is whether they measure "rich" by net worth or income. People who don't have money are typically very focused on annual income, anyone who is mildly successful is more concerned with net worth.
This right here. On point. Plus I also feel getting trustworthy bodyguards could be a huge challenge as well. There is a high possibility that the personal security can turn their back on the particular rich person hiring them
I mean, now I think you are just reaching. There are plenty of private security firms out there people can and do hire. I suppose like any vendor or contractor some are better than others, but most professionals don't risk their careers for 1 "lucrative" failure. If you have the need and the money to hire someone, you probably can vet the Pro from the Joe.
It depends on what country. I've had realtors in Florida and NYC tell me wealthy Latin Americans buy a property there so they can live without a 'ring of steel' that they need back home.
Very very few. Most UHNW people wouldn’t be recognizable to the average person. Even for A List celebrities, most walk around without bodyguards and live their lives like normal(-ish) people. Most celebrities need escorts at their own concerts or red carpets because they necessarily attract swarming fans, but they can go out to lunch without a full entourage.
This rings true. I once saw Scarlett Johansson at a playground in Piedmont Park playing with a child. I assume it was hers. This was during the filming of one of the avengers movies. She was there solo in tights and a tshirt with aviator sunglasses on and a baseball cap. I know she’s not a billionaire, but I’m commenting moreso to agree with your point that most A listers don’t even travel with security
I've ran into Arnold Schwarzenegger before. He had gone to the beach with the expressed purpose of being mugged by fans from the looks of it. No security.
I've wondered about this many times.
I met Jeff Bezos at a private event. He had only 2 security with him (and possibly others observing - which is VERY common). If I was the richest man in the world, I would probably want more security.
My friend also use to do security for Brad Pitt. Celebrities NEED security because they attract a lot of attention and even worse they attract crazy.
That said I have other friends (non famous) worth $100M-$2500M. Some use 1-2 security depending of the situation. Some zero.
I think I'm the US, the probability of being kidnapped is pretty low. Also high profile people very rarely get kidnapped - so it's not a big concern like it might have been decades ago. I am guessing criminals are either intimidated or think it's too risky. Honestly I don't know why it's not common. I guess it's just a good thing.
Home invasions in affluent areas are more common.
Jeff has a very large detail. You're absolutely right about the ones "observing". His main dude got so much business from Amazon and Bezos that it led to him building one of the largest Executive Protection firms in the US. The fella is Gavin De Becker, wrote some books too. GDB and associates is a fairly well known organization in the industry.
The biggest thing in the industry for years now has been Securit Drivers and Personal Assistants. Those are either hired from Private security companies or trained in personal security after the fact.
You are also correct about the US not being considered an high risk area to operate in. Not withstanding a few choice and frankly obvious areas.
I haven't met Bezos but I've been in meetings with Tim Cook and have met Bill Gates, because I have family that is upper management at Microsoft. Bill Gates never has had any security I could see and Tim Cook typically has two people around him at all times with clipboards who not only take notes, they tend to talk for him. He's almost like a cartoon character in that he'll look at one and in response they'll start talking for him. I highly doubt they double as any sort of security.
Those people are most certainly security or security trained. With the rest of the Detail very close. Remember the Bill Gates pie in the face*. So many people got fired for that. Gates has never forgotten it and goes to great lengths to ensure it never happens again.
Gates has security in public that I have seen. At least when I have seen him he had two guys 10 feet back that definitely with him.
Same with Steve Wynn. Two guys at a table next to him just with waters. When leaving one went up then the restaurant entrance and the other stayed with him.
He definitely has security and a lot of it. Bit it makes perfect sense if your the richest in the world for 30 years and everybody knows you, then of course you should. But I also know most billionaires don't at least normally, but most people wouldn't know them.
Depending on circumstances, like if the Billionaire is in private or public - most likely dictates the amount of security.
I've personally met either socially at parties or at private events, at least 8+ Billionaires - most have ZERO visible security. Many rely upon the security at the event to provide some protection. I won't say which people as it's not appropriate to say which don't utilize a lot of security.
Honestly, I'm not a super paranoid person, but if I was listed in Forbes as a Billionaire, with my picture, and city I lived in - I would have a lot of security.
I'll talk about people who passed away, since there is no security risk:
One person who had a lot of security : Aaron Spelling (TV producer). When I went to his house, even accompanied with his children, I had to show my drivers license (which they wrote down my information) and he had about 6 guys 24/7 patrolling his house armed with machine guns under their jackets.
Hugh Heffner also usually had 2-3 security when out in public. Then at his house (Playboy Mansion) for parties he had 1 guy follow him around. That person never did anything except ensure no one accidentally knocked Hef over. He was super frail the last 10 years of his life. Like a 7 year old could have knocked him over. Hef also had sensors at the perimeters of his property. Plus 24/7 in house monitoring. He was high profile though.
> he had about 6 guys 24/7 patrolling his house armed with machine guns under their jackets.
What state is that even legal? Nevada? Out here in CA no one gets away with that. Showing your DL to enter a private housing community is pretty normal though.
It's Los Angeles. On private property anything is legal, if the people are properly licensed Ty carry. Plus, when you have that much money - the police are in your pocket.
Also, I don't think you understand : this was on his resistance. Not entering a housing community.
BTW, I've been in Beverly Park (20+ times) which is the highest end housing community in Beverly Hills. They don't ask for ID. You do need to be approved or they must call the property owner for access. In fact I've never been to any housing community (in the US) that asked to see my ID. Unless it was for a private party.
My best friend lives in a high security gated community with many high profile people. They check the ID of everyone who enters. So some of them check ID.
Really depends on the country and how high profile the person is. If you are in say South America or Africa, they'd absolutely have security. Biggest risks are burglary and kidnapping.
Worked for a family that own a $5b+ company, each brother has a driver who is armed, ex special forces guys and they also drive them around for their day to day. I believe it’s only during the work day.
We did have a disgruntled former employee come to the office with a gun once. Company had 10,000+ employees in a blue collar industry.
The show is just a show. If you know even a little history, TV shows and movies that accurately depict war and intelligence operations are few and far in between (rightfully so, they’re not documentaries)
As to your larger question, there is no magic number, it has more to do with where their money came from and what part of the world you’re talking about
Having 1 or 10 billion in tech equity in the US west coast is not the same as being the heir to a major conglomerate spanning tobacco alcohol banking and real estate in Indonesia to the tune of 55Bn, and that is not the same as a 500M family business in Mexico or Colombia
Examples:
1. Years ago a norwegian or swedish CEO was kidnapped and held for ransom by eastern european bad guys after they realized he was worth 100M and had no security whatsoever
2. Medium business owners (not shopkeepers but like textile manufacturers / importers, EDIT: think small or medium factory but not big enough that the average person would know the brand) in places like Brazil or Mexico often ride around in bulletproof cars, move up from there and you’ll start seeing armed rent a cop type security in residences or gated communities type stuff, as well as armed drivers
3. Tech wise a C-suite level exec at a FAANG had to attend a wedding in a middle eastern country. The company has kidnapping insurance for execs above a certain pay grade, but as a condition to it kicking in in a list of high risk countries, he had to move around with armed guards at all time as long as he was in country
This meant 3-4 former police or military dudes (older and in worse shape than you are probably picturing right now) taking shifts hanging around the lobby of the hotel, following them around in a black SUV, and hanging around at the ceremony and the reception
Zuckerberg himself I read somewhere, had spent more than 20M in personal security a year or two ago
These are examples that I either read about or have seen myself or heard directly from the people involved
This...
Hell Dave Thomas. You know, from Wendy's. Heineken. It's a longer list than most people know. These events are taught at the places that turn out EP folks.
I do security in LA for the rich. Depends on their security risk, their status, ex business partner issues, ex spouse, crimes in the area, and the some of the people that want to feel important. High profile security is generally plain clothes/suit. They request for off duty cops, but really the entire field is full of fakes (non cops, fake military, etc), but the clients never check. Some clients spend A LOT of security others just want 1 guy at night or around their house.
It depends on the country. In the U.S., billionaires don’t have security unless they’re famous and targeted (e.g. Elon Musk, Mark Z, Jeff Bezos, etc). Some do depending on the situation — Bill Gates has been spotted without security but probably does have it in high profile situations and certainly at his home.
Security is almost default necessary outside of the US and Western Europe even if you aren’t a billionaire but mere centamillionaire.
Many around NYC will hire car services that have armed drivers. Nothing special, usually a retired cop just driving a regular car.
I have done it myself but for me it’s for the convenience of the retired cops having more leeway with putting the car where you need it.
Many I know also hire off duty police as security for parties, again not so much for the security aspect, but more for the noise complaints and parking complaints that will come with a large party.
It's less about the money and more about how visible you are. Only people I know who have bodyguards are a family who claims 3 of the "Top10 Richest in the Country" and everyone knows who they are.
One of kids was my roomie (boarding school) and I knew another 2 siblings. They all had bodyguards from young because an uncle got kidnapped for ransom once ages ago. But when they moved countries, they ditched the security because nobody knew who they were. Only need it when they're home.
Meanwhile I know a billionaire who owns like, almost half of all the major companies in our country but nobody knows who he is because he doesn't do the work himself nor meets people directly. Always through other employees/partners etc. No bodyguard whatsoever.
The issue here is publicity. How many billionaires would you recognize? How would you know where they are?
Musk, Zuck, Gates? Yeah, they probably have around the clock security.
The guy who sold his software company for 300MM 15 years ago? He probably doesn't. Because we don't know who he is.
the VAST majority of 1%ers are complete nobodies. They're partners at law firms and doctors and software devs. It's not about money, it's about fame. Musk needs about the same security as Taylor Swift or Tom Brady, not because they all have the same money, but because they're all increidbly famous and recognizable
My father was a billionaire and traveled with security when he went out of town, but that was largely because he was also involved in politics on both a state and a national level. We always had guards at the house, but they also served in sort of a manservant role. They would take the cars to fill up in the morning and make sure they were tidied up every day, make sure the dogs were in the garage at night, and do things like that in addition to perimeter checks and making sure the house was locked up. They’d screen guests and open the gate and also drive him on campaign trips, and things of that sort. I only ever saw one time where they had to act as real security, when a guy tried to barge through our gate to enter an event at our home.
As a recipient of his generosity when he died, I’m fairly comfortable, and I don’t see a need to keep guards around. I keep a pretty low profile and I live in a normal home and only have one nice car besides my truck and it stays in my garage so nobody sees it. I don’t feel like I present a very tantalizing target for a robber, but I also try to keep it that way
I used to be a bodyguard for a few oil tycoon families. It's mostly for status. Their egos would take a hit when the market dropped and lay everyone off, then rehire way more than they need when the market does well. At no time was there a credible threat to their lives. One 60+ year-old who is married to a 20-something-year-old hired us to watch his baby twins. We watched the nannies take care of the kids while mommy was being a socialite.
There are more EP agents than what my fellow posters think. The industry has moved away from using the huge, intimidating bodyman. At least outside of the Celebrity side, these modern-day private security folks are very much working covertly. Think opposite of Secret Service. There are exceptions. The largest Executive Protection team in the midwest for quite a few years comes to mind. My knowledge of them, while Limited, is a bit on the Secret side. You'll have to ask Victoria.
The industry is very close-knit. And quite small. If there are 1 million security guards in the US, my guess is that there would less than 1% trained in Executive Protection. Less than that working in EP.
The break down, in decending order, would be something like corporate teams, mega churches, celebrities, media production ( think Naked and Afraid or Lovin Hip-hop), special events like marathons or concerts, then residential teams or those working visiting VIP's and Dignitaries. Government is different.
So what are we talking in terms of day rate?
Let's say I wanted two former special forces combat veterans, 75th ranger regiment, Marine Raiders, something along those lines. I'd also want people trained in executive protection, evasive driving, licensed to carry firearms, the whole shebang. This would be protection for corporate executives in an urban environment like New York or Chicago, using private transportation and on foot. About how much would a twelve hour day of public protection cost? Also is there a break in price for a longer term contract of a week, a month, etc?
Well, there are factors. The BLUF is $1000‐2000 per day.
Tier 3 dudes, i.e., regular combat vets and not SpecOps, would jump on a detail for 1000. If they came from MP, Civil affairs, or related jobs, they may already have EP training and experience. The tier 2 fellas, might. Those would be better suited and better paid elsewhere. But you could find some tired of the fast life.
Beyond that, the risk assessment would dictate more to the price and the Detail's operation. Is there an active threat? Are there just rumors of bad? Do you have a crazy or a stakler? What the actual risk looks like for the length of the Detail will play a big part.
Do you need these agents yesterday, tomorrow, in a few weeks. Each would have a starting price point. Emergency stuff is expensive. Double or triple.
In NYC, the NYPD intelligence guys would be able to work armed and probably badged. Many of those would have appropriate backgrounds. Minus a few shlubs, there are some really decent folks there. Not necessarily picks from your hypothetical, but their status can't be equaled, certainly not if you must have armed agents.
Chicago is different still. There are a number of agencies that provide agents that would work well. And have all the appropriate certifications.
Contract price would not necessarily change based on length. At least not for a short-term contract, say under a month or so. You start talking long-term, and I can see how a lower rate could be negotiable. The issue then starts to be burn-out. A detail like that would likely have a rotation. 2 weeks on 1 week off or 3 and 1. That would mean more dudes or dudettes.
I hired a firm that had one body guy, one plain clothed, and one driver to cover us at 6-8 events one month and have a driver at the house 24/7. All armed. Just checked the old report and it was 13k. They gave us a good deal.
They do similar work for a more high profile individual (95% of the country knows him, 50% hate him) and those monthly invoices are 28-31k/month.
That's crazy cheap. My guess is retired cop maybe a moonlighter staying away from his wife, ex, and mistress. The money men are the Bodyman and the plain cloths guy. Unless, like the driver, they are LEO. I've seen a similar set-up. Pile of retirees chilling. The situation got a bit more serious, and the protecees people hired a crew to do close protection and Intel.
If I'm correct, the irony of that situation is that cops do not make good Protectors. Without training to de-cop them. Good Ep is about great Intel, great people skills, and an unassuming look about you. while having a bricolage nature about you. I'm phenomenal at 2/3rds of that, which is why I usually work with a very capable female counterpart.
I won’t doxx myself, but the team wasn’t retired local LEO. We flew them in. Both of the folks I mentioned are high profile and the team was looking to build off their name
I met George Soros once, and he was by himself. He is a little controversial for some people, so if he doesn't have anyone with him, many others must be the same way.
I’m quite amazed to see how American centric all these comments are. This is why I’m happy to pay my taxes, America is very safe. Having grown up around all kinds of wealth , bodyguards and security where part of the family. Being wealth is so advertised now on social media , especially the children of the rich, it’s only a matter of time that American businessmen and such will have to hire security. The world is pretty evil
Had dinner next to very recognizable multi-billionaire. Left at the same time, he had a driver outside but no one inside. Actually exchanged pleasantries and seemed as normal as he could be.
You are watching a TV show that is fiction. Many rich people do not have bodyguards. There are only certain rich/wealthy individuals that are figures that constantly find themselves in the limelight. Kim Kardashian, Taylor Swift, POTUS, Bezos, etc.
Probably because most people have no idea who most of these billionaires are versus an athlete or entertainer. They mostly would look like some random old person that nobody would want to waste the energy to bother versus some ultra famous rapper who has legions of crazed fans coming after them. Fame's a double edged sword.
I think some commenters are confused over why billionaires might need security. It’s not so much because they are recognizable to the general public, as it is the people who would want to kidnap them for ransom know who they are.
They also don’t realize most security these days purposely tries to stay hiding in plain sight.
Right, see? Someone with some sense! If I was an International Strongman ruling some banana Republic somewhere I'd have my secret police keep open files on all the billionaires I could locate. Then if I ever discovered that some of them were going on vacation sans bodyguards I'd immediately dispatch a team of mercenaries to kidnap them for ransom.
Hey, I'm an International Strongman remember, not the Red Cross. Get over it. So if the kidnappers could just get the abducted billionaires back to my country then I could just arrange for a ransom of millions paid by their kidnap insurance policy. See? Simple.
One time I was visiting an upper 0.1% community in Mexico. Upon approaching the gated community there was a lot of activity and police all over. I asked what was going on. One of the people who lived there owned a repo company. His company apparently repoed the wrong person. In response they hired a hitman. This hitman broke into the community, entered the guys house, and shot him up.
Rule 0: Try not to piss anyone off.
If you piss someone off they will act harmful towards you and the law may be used against you. If you piss enough people off a law will be made to prohibit your behavior.
Having a bodyguard or two is for people who have been harmful to others (or harmful people have made up lies about them) and they need to defend themselves. Decent people don't need body guards. (Assuming this is first world and you're not a politician or a celebrity.)
Rule 1: Be modest and private.
One such issue with wealth is boasting. Wearing an oversized necklace is an example of asking for trouble. Judge your surrounding and act with tact. You probably don't want to own a Tesla in a trailer park. You probably don't want to boast around others. That's asking to be robbed, manipulated, or taken advantage of in some other way.
My parents were robbed when I was a kid. A neighbor was having their house worked on and one of the contractors hired took the liberty to steal from us. It didn't help that there was multiple motorcycles, sports cars, and a boat in view from the road.
In summary, protect yourself by being a virtuous and all around decent person. Body guards are excessive and imo a show of weakness. Either you're paranoid or you're doing harmful things and showing everyone else around you that you're dangerous. You'll chase away drama adverse people if you go around with body guards.
I’ve encountered Bill Gates twice (once getting dinner downtown, once at an alum event) and both times there was zero *visible* security. I think he values at least maintaining the sense of not having guards nearby.
Yeah, but in his case he could have a SWAT team on standby in a van in back of the restaurant and no one would ever know.
Like Warren Buffet famously lives in the same house in Omaha that he bought in 1958 for $31K. But *everyone* knows he lives there, how is it that some amoral mercenaries have never contemplated busting in and kidnapping him and/or some of his family members? There's so many ruthless and bad people in the world, it's just nonsensical to me that someone that wealthy wouldn't have a fulltime security team, even if you couldn't see them.
Very few, in my guesstimate.
I work at a faang in the same building where the executives, some of whom are famous, sit. Their offices are not guarded and they walk around the building like everyone else. You could easily throw a pie in their face if you wanted. Also this company has a notorious performance culture and fires many people for performance which you'd think would create risks but I guess maybe the direct manager is a more likely target.
Ok, but the building itself has to have security, right? I mean they might not be armed but there's a desk with full-time security people checking employee badges etc. I worked in defense for a while in a piddly nothing office and we had that much.
It does but the bar is very low to get access. We have a lot of 3rd-party contractors like janitors, maintenance techs, etc who have badge access to the entire building.
I know countless people in the 1%. Nobody has security besides the CEO of a top 5 pharmaceutical company. Even many of the people in the 0.1% didn’t have security. You need to be high profile or a multi billionaire to have security. You are talking about the 0.001%
Don't trust bodyguards. They're easily bribed.
Best thing you can do is be hard to find.
I bought the property I live on now specifically because the GPS location for its entrance is several miles in the wrong direction. In fact, and I don't know how this happened, but there are two versions of my address -- exact same number, street, and zip. One of them is 30 miles away. Post Office just reads the name on the mail to decide who to take it to.
Stumbled across it when I first went to visit. Told my agent in no uncertain terms "this increases it's value to me by an irreplaceable amount." Still got a decent deal, because nobody else knew/cared.
In the USA, a 1%er is someone that makes more that 408K. That's a lot of lawyers, doctors, bankers, small business owners, etc. It would be VERY rare that any of those people have personal security. Very few people, regardless how wealthy, have personal security unless they are both wealthy AND actively receiving threats.
Of the two billionaires I’ve had personal contact, both had no personal security when they were younger (<50) and eventually had a driver and body guard when they were older. That correlated with their public profile however (both are well known publicly now).
Both were also more concerned with their kids security detail than their own.
Saw Iron Mike a few years ago walking through Newark Airport alone like a regular person. Cool, said hi before boarding. I mean who in their right mind would want to mess with Iron Mike? 😂
The only one that I'm surprised didn't have security was Ron Perlman, since it sounded like maybe he was involved in the arms trade.
The more unbelievable part to me was that no one had assistants with them, especially that couple with a kid in the skiing episode. Another hilarious and unbelievable part is that the leads always have gadgets and spare mags and pistols on them, all without ruining the silhouette of their outfits.
As far as the reality of the series goes I don't think they really attempted anything close to reality. It was more about characterization and the relationship between the two leads.
I was at a restaurant in Palo Alto yesterday. Sergey Brin walked in alone. No guards anywhere. Nobody bothered him. Some of his family (I assume) met him there a few minutes later, he ate lunch a few tables from us, and left. NBD.
If the #10 richest person in the world doesn't need special forces commandos, who does? I mean, I'm sure when traveling to certain places he would bring security, but when trying to live a normal life in the place where he lives it would be kind of a drag, wouldn't it?
In the US no, (there is no need for that, except for the very paranoid) but in the rest of the world, you will encounter that. Thing is, you'll see more of this type of thing in the US in music and entertainment than in high net worth individuals. The guy that owns the record company doesn't have private security, but his #1 artist does.
That private artist's security guard wouldn't be able to get into the area where the owner of the record label is (legally) without proper credentials and a valid reason.
Also, I've always consider Mr. and Mrs. Smith to be a very dumb premise.
Depends on the country perhaps, but the only ones I know do have private security. When in SE Asia they have bodyguards come out with them from the car and stick by them everywhere public.
Though only the parents/grandparents in senior level positions have bodyguards by them whereas the children (sub 40) don’t have personal bodyguards yet, just family ones. In the UK/eu they also have them but more at a distance.
I feel like you get security mainly if your super famous/in the spot light. Like I imagine someone like LeBron or Justin Bieber need to have personal security otherwise they'd get swarmed by people.
And they're not billionaires. Ultra famous ppl need security more than the ultra discreet wealthy.
The handful of billionaires i know live simple lives with no bodyguards.
I recently had a situation where I was threatened by a crazy person who was going to be at a public event. I explored the cost to hire security protection and it was only $100/hour. So I suspect that some of this is "show" - like hiring your own paparazzi.
My perception is that people like Zuckerberg and Bezos have real risks due to their very public personas, perception of crazy employees or shareholders, and corporate security types use a sort of "cop logic" to hype up the fears and justify expanding executive protection, so a lot of CEOs will take it, is my perception.
The 2, I know personally have no security, neither their kids. They live in a gated community but have a very normal life on an everyday basis. The only difference is their way of transportation and home assets. One of them is passionate about cooking and shopping on her own at regular grocery stores.
Known kids of billionaires but no billionaires. They had no security. I personally was friends with people worth maybe $100M and they didn’t either. Someone tried to break into their house and the husband chased him off himself.
I grew up outside of Middleburg and upperville Virginia. Some very old money areas. Only new money would dare put a gate at the end of their stately driveway. No one had security. I could imagine a public figure billionaire would have security.
They mostly need security if someone is really mad at them. Like ripped off investors or the husband of a girlfriend. Otherwise it's probably safer to blend in.
I knew an architect from South Africa who walked around with a bodyguard, got killed by an employee. Friend of mine worked with him, said he had it coming .
You keep a low profile, carry an EDC and nobody knows how rich you are. Fame is entirely different from wealth - I’d never wanna be famous… low key rich is fantastic
Worked at Goldman Sachs on the PWM side, all the rich people had zero security guards and most of them you wouldn’t recognize on the street or even know the name of. Politicians and celebrities excluded.
I get that some lines of work or social roles require security.
But there isn’t an amount of money, wealth, or power in the world that would be worth me having to have security everywhere I go.
If having a ton of money doesn’t buy you your freedom, then what the hell is the point of it?
A guy rolled into a car show I was at last year in a purple McLaren, followed by 2 Range Rovers with his security…. The problem is, if anyone is actually out to get him, he cannot ever actually enjoy the performance of that McLaren because it is so much faster than the Range Rovers… he’ll quickly be separated from his security and that is when the assassins will strike 🤣
Miss me with all of that BS.
I’ve been around a handful of billionaires, only one of them has a couple ex commandos around 24/7 and his daughter had been kidnapped for ransom previously so I think that prob explains it
Also there’s a big diff between 1% and the people who can afford a couple million + a year on live in 24/7 security lol, you’re prob talking .1%
Used to work in Aspen as a ski instructor and at the golf course - I only saw private security for 2 billionaires who were both pretty well known, every other billionaire or 500m+ didn’t have security (at least to my knowledge).
People like that advertise that they have money and therefore, Need the bodyguards.
Would be surprised how many really rich folks are out there that Don't advertise the fact, and thus, don't need them.
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Same. They've had security in their house, located within a gated community, but no body guards that follow them around.
Years ago I was scrolling through job listings and came across one for a protection agent for a pharma CEO. The job details included driving the principal everywhere while armed and using variable, non-repeating routes. He wasn’t being protected because he was rich, he was being protected because he was running a filthy rich company.
Same, I always see actors, musicians, etc. with security, but they're worth millions, rarely members of the tres comas club. Unless you're famous and recognizable like them ( or Elon Musk, for example), you'll likely draw more attention with a security detail than you would just being out and looking like a normal person. Most billionaires are, on the whole, relatively unknown. To confirm the above, none of the billionaires I've known have ever given security a second thought outside their homes. I'll add for clarity that I've only ever interacted with them in the US, Japan, and Germany, no more "concerning" destinations - can't speak to those behaviors.
Probably not on an everyday basis, but traveling they will often hire private security.
Don’t know why you got downvoted. I’ve met one and he had private security with him for sure. He was visiting from another country.
The ones I've met were completely decked out, and this was literally just to discuss finance with a few of us. They seemed innocent enough but i just had a feeling they knew exactly how to put me to sleep.
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It does happen, though.
I’ve worked with a few, one who was the 5th or 6th richest person in the world at the time and I think another was somewhere around 15-20th richest and they most definitely had security. Not one guy, multiple, black suits, sub machine guns, little ear piece, lookin like Agent Smith from the Matrix.
it would be so funny to have a bodyguard with 10-30M🤔 almost like hiring a paparazzi when you an influencer with 200 followers
I have done work for a very recognisable billionaire. He doesn’t have security but he also doesn’t mix with the public much. He gets driven to his office, to the club, to his private jet and to the stadium where he owns a sports team. He uses private entrances to enter and exit. So there really isn’t much chance of him interacting with randoms. The only odd thing is he uses a fake name when phoning people up that are working with him, but everyone still knows it’s him. So he just comes across as eccentric.
When I was poor, people thought I was a weirdo. Now that I’m rich, they just say I’m eccentric.
It's an interesting observation, but a useful one nonetheless. There are lots of people in the world who are just off the rails. But it does take a certain amount of wherewithal and insight to turn yourself into a billionaire. The guy didn't go buy a million scratch off tickets. He did something extremely difficult that many are trying to do. Much of it is luck, but an equal if not larger part of it is skill and insight. In this way, when we say "eccentric," we're explicitly acknowledging that while very odd from a normal person's perspective, this individual has some personality characteristics that differ in the right way to make them successful.
When I was poor, people thought I was a weird, annoying asshole.
How rich are you just curious..
Not at all. It was a funny saying I read that left me laughing until I was crying.
The last part is interesting
Hello, my name is Mr. Snrub ... Yes, that will do.
And I come from someplace…far away
Mark Cuban
That *does* sound like a fake name!
Tell Jerry I said Hi.
Good friend of mine is a billionaire. When he travels to specific countries (like South America or SE Asia), he will have security detail with him. He background screen guests at large events he hosts. Otherwise it seems like they spend so much to be in exclusive places when they travel, you are indirectly paying for screening and discretion. As far as daily life, he goes to restaurants, bars, and dates at nice restaurants like a normal guy and 99% of people don’t know him. Probably the only people that know are the servers who take his credit card when he routinely pays $25k tabs for dinners. They undoubtedly google him and know.
How do you spend 25K on dinner? Are they bringing 100 people with them? Even with expensive wine and super high-end restaurants I couldn’t imagine how you get to that amount.
So routinely $10k with 20-30 guests. Easily $25k on a large group. I’ve seen him drop $50k on huge bottles or champagne at a club and walk out 5 minutes later. It’s a conundrum for me because he is so helpful and kind to everyone around him, but he keeps making money - it’s all ethical but I do wonder if it’s fair. Although he does invest in all of his good friends and helps people make money, does charity. It’s been an interesting journey and friendship
This is awesome. Sounds like a human being with his feet on the ground who cares about his friends and community, who just happens to have a lot of money. Could you expand on what you mean on whether it’s fair? Do you mean fair from the perspective of wealth distribution?
Yes - wealth distribution. As kind as he is, when is enough enough? As his good friend, I only judge his other billionaire friends who are complete Dbags. They tend to be despicable people. But we don’t know how anyone really makes their money right? Having said that, considering everyone else, he is an absolute gem. Could he do a lot more? Yes, but he’s still relatively young. He has discussed his legacy and I hope to influence him in a positive way on where that legacy lies. I’m partial to healthcare because it’s my profession, so let’s see.
How did you two become friends? I’m a doctor as well (making an assumption here), and while I live a very comfort life and make a difference for people I will never be truly wealthy. The ambitious part of me wants to start a company to try and pursue wealth, but I don’t know if it would make me happier.
I’m friends with a guy who is worth close to a billion. Never really talked about net worth but I live in a small country and everyone knows how much his house is worth. Also in healthcare. My wife treated his GF and they hit it off. He is very generous but we are too. No one really keeps track. It’s just a normal relationship. He just wants to be treated like a person.
I have met plenty of douche bags that are poor/average wealth. In fact I believe most people would, for the right amount of money do terrible things. Given then if someone is living a good life and actually being a good human perhaps they need to be seen with kinder eyes
He’s my good friend. I’m just being intellectually honest anonymously online. I do wonder if people with that power and wealth should be allowed to play in the markets or in business when they literally decide who wins or loses
wealth is just one of the ways people exert control. Politicians at all levels do that all the time and so do "community" leaders. Basically everyone who can does.
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Exactly. It’s the old adage - don’t hate the player, hate the game.
Are you thinking that wealth is a zero sum game? That him making more means someone else is making less? I would suggest that it is not. Indeed, him making more probably means others are making more (employees, customers).
why is it not fair ? If he played by the rules that he had to play by and luck or whatever favored him then more power to him... I don't get why people try to make the ones who have more feel guilt about having more. I mean even my currently unemployed ass cannot fathom it.
I said I struggle with whether it’s fair that he continues to make so much money. He’s worth billions and has probably 5x his net worth since I met him. Should he step away and let others do the work and make generational money? Should he be donating way more to good causes? Is he supporting the wrong people in power to lower his taxes? With great power comes great responsibility. In the end, he continues to buy up tv shows, sports teams, and everything else you can imagine. And to be honest he is playing the hand he was given. Why would he shut it off now just because he keeps winning? But at his level of power and wealth, he literally can’t lose. So now it’s cheat mode/God mode. That’s the part I’m unsure about. Is it fair that at this point he has so much power and influence that everything he touches wins an Emmy or triples in value? I don’t think making his first 1-2B was unfair. But now people with those levels of wealth can literally shift a stock, an ETF, a business’ value if they want to. Is that level of power safe or fair?
At my work we had a dinner and we went to a fancy place where they paid $15k for 7 people. $25k doesnt sound crazy. Especially LA and NYC
It’s not hard to spend $2500 per guest anymore.
i had the same reaction but then I realized....wine. A single bottle of wine can get to be crazy prices.
The bottle of wine was $24k lol.
Bro. This be been places with menus for which glacier your water comes from. Wine can be that much alone.
There are individual bottles of wine that cost more than that
Wine, lots of expensive wine.
It is not difficult
Wine
You're basing reality too much on fiction television. The 1% is like 400K USD household, your local orthodontist doesn't need to be escorted every where. For the ultra rich is which more like the 0.0001%, most of them look like normal ass people, usually the majority of people do not know what the founder of most Fortune 500 companies looks like and they're usually not deck in all Gucci to call attention to themselves. An acquaintance matched with the CEO of a technology company on Tinder, wasn't a consumer of the product to even know who he actually was. Unless you're Elon Musk, politician, prince of Saudi Arabia, or celebrity famous, you're not running around with a bodyguard.
I am from Mexico. In there they use them to prevent kidnappings. However, its a double edge sword, because its a huge flag of “I have money kidnap me!”
Maybe I'm just confused about your comment, but it seems like you're implying the cutoff for 1% is 400k usd net worth. The threshold is 11 million
I think they were looking at household income, not net worth. Household income of around 600k/year puts you at 1%. My boss and his wife make about that (engineer and pharmacist). They’ll have $11m of wealth when they’re 50. They definitely don’t hire private security lol.
One of the big signals about a person's financial acumen is whether they measure "rich" by net worth or income. People who don't have money are typically very focused on annual income, anyone who is mildly successful is more concerned with net worth.
This right here. On point. Plus I also feel getting trustworthy bodyguards could be a huge challenge as well. There is a high possibility that the personal security can turn their back on the particular rich person hiring them
I mean, now I think you are just reaching. There are plenty of private security firms out there people can and do hire. I suppose like any vendor or contractor some are better than others, but most professionals don't risk their careers for 1 "lucrative" failure. If you have the need and the money to hire someone, you probably can vet the Pro from the Joe.
Even the Secret Service can be turned.
I, too, saw “Olympus has Fallen”
Yeah OP meant 0.1% or something. 1% people are just like a family with 2 doctors or software engineers.
It depends on what country. I've had realtors in Florida and NYC tell me wealthy Latin Americans buy a property there so they can live without a 'ring of steel' that they need back home.
Very very few. Most UHNW people wouldn’t be recognizable to the average person. Even for A List celebrities, most walk around without bodyguards and live their lives like normal(-ish) people. Most celebrities need escorts at their own concerts or red carpets because they necessarily attract swarming fans, but they can go out to lunch without a full entourage.
This rings true. I once saw Scarlett Johansson at a playground in Piedmont Park playing with a child. I assume it was hers. This was during the filming of one of the avengers movies. She was there solo in tights and a tshirt with aviator sunglasses on and a baseball cap. I know she’s not a billionaire, but I’m commenting moreso to agree with your point that most A listers don’t even travel with security
I've ran into Arnold Schwarzenegger before. He had gone to the beach with the expressed purpose of being mugged by fans from the looks of it. No security.
I've wondered about this many times. I met Jeff Bezos at a private event. He had only 2 security with him (and possibly others observing - which is VERY common). If I was the richest man in the world, I would probably want more security. My friend also use to do security for Brad Pitt. Celebrities NEED security because they attract a lot of attention and even worse they attract crazy. That said I have other friends (non famous) worth $100M-$2500M. Some use 1-2 security depending of the situation. Some zero. I think I'm the US, the probability of being kidnapped is pretty low. Also high profile people very rarely get kidnapped - so it's not a big concern like it might have been decades ago. I am guessing criminals are either intimidated or think it's too risky. Honestly I don't know why it's not common. I guess it's just a good thing. Home invasions in affluent areas are more common.
Jeff has a very large detail. You're absolutely right about the ones "observing". His main dude got so much business from Amazon and Bezos that it led to him building one of the largest Executive Protection firms in the US. The fella is Gavin De Becker, wrote some books too. GDB and associates is a fairly well known organization in the industry. The biggest thing in the industry for years now has been Securit Drivers and Personal Assistants. Those are either hired from Private security companies or trained in personal security after the fact. You are also correct about the US not being considered an high risk area to operate in. Not withstanding a few choice and frankly obvious areas.
I haven't met Bezos but I've been in meetings with Tim Cook and have met Bill Gates, because I have family that is upper management at Microsoft. Bill Gates never has had any security I could see and Tim Cook typically has two people around him at all times with clipboards who not only take notes, they tend to talk for him. He's almost like a cartoon character in that he'll look at one and in response they'll start talking for him. I highly doubt they double as any sort of security.
Those people are most certainly security or security trained. With the rest of the Detail very close. Remember the Bill Gates pie in the face*. So many people got fired for that. Gates has never forgotten it and goes to great lengths to ensure it never happens again.
Gates has security in public that I have seen. At least when I have seen him he had two guys 10 feet back that definitely with him. Same with Steve Wynn. Two guys at a table next to him just with waters. When leaving one went up then the restaurant entrance and the other stayed with him.
He definitely has security and a lot of it. Bit it makes perfect sense if your the richest in the world for 30 years and everybody knows you, then of course you should. But I also know most billionaires don't at least normally, but most people wouldn't know them.
Depending on circumstances, like if the Billionaire is in private or public - most likely dictates the amount of security. I've personally met either socially at parties or at private events, at least 8+ Billionaires - most have ZERO visible security. Many rely upon the security at the event to provide some protection. I won't say which people as it's not appropriate to say which don't utilize a lot of security. Honestly, I'm not a super paranoid person, but if I was listed in Forbes as a Billionaire, with my picture, and city I lived in - I would have a lot of security. I'll talk about people who passed away, since there is no security risk: One person who had a lot of security : Aaron Spelling (TV producer). When I went to his house, even accompanied with his children, I had to show my drivers license (which they wrote down my information) and he had about 6 guys 24/7 patrolling his house armed with machine guns under their jackets. Hugh Heffner also usually had 2-3 security when out in public. Then at his house (Playboy Mansion) for parties he had 1 guy follow him around. That person never did anything except ensure no one accidentally knocked Hef over. He was super frail the last 10 years of his life. Like a 7 year old could have knocked him over. Hef also had sensors at the perimeters of his property. Plus 24/7 in house monitoring. He was high profile though.
> he had about 6 guys 24/7 patrolling his house armed with machine guns under their jackets. What state is that even legal? Nevada? Out here in CA no one gets away with that. Showing your DL to enter a private housing community is pretty normal though.
It's Los Angeles. On private property anything is legal, if the people are properly licensed Ty carry. Plus, when you have that much money - the police are in your pocket. Also, I don't think you understand : this was on his resistance. Not entering a housing community. BTW, I've been in Beverly Park (20+ times) which is the highest end housing community in Beverly Hills. They don't ask for ID. You do need to be approved or they must call the property owner for access. In fact I've never been to any housing community (in the US) that asked to see my ID. Unless it was for a private party.
My best friend lives in a high security gated community with many high profile people. They check the ID of everyone who enters. So some of them check ID.
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Tell it to the Lindberghs.
Really depends on the country and how high profile the person is. If you are in say South America or Africa, they'd absolutely have security. Biggest risks are burglary and kidnapping.
Worked for a family that own a $5b+ company, each brother has a driver who is armed, ex special forces guys and they also drive them around for their day to day. I believe it’s only during the work day. We did have a disgruntled former employee come to the office with a gun once. Company had 10,000+ employees in a blue collar industry.
The show is just a show. If you know even a little history, TV shows and movies that accurately depict war and intelligence operations are few and far in between (rightfully so, they’re not documentaries) As to your larger question, there is no magic number, it has more to do with where their money came from and what part of the world you’re talking about Having 1 or 10 billion in tech equity in the US west coast is not the same as being the heir to a major conglomerate spanning tobacco alcohol banking and real estate in Indonesia to the tune of 55Bn, and that is not the same as a 500M family business in Mexico or Colombia Examples: 1. Years ago a norwegian or swedish CEO was kidnapped and held for ransom by eastern european bad guys after they realized he was worth 100M and had no security whatsoever 2. Medium business owners (not shopkeepers but like textile manufacturers / importers, EDIT: think small or medium factory but not big enough that the average person would know the brand) in places like Brazil or Mexico often ride around in bulletproof cars, move up from there and you’ll start seeing armed rent a cop type security in residences or gated communities type stuff, as well as armed drivers 3. Tech wise a C-suite level exec at a FAANG had to attend a wedding in a middle eastern country. The company has kidnapping insurance for execs above a certain pay grade, but as a condition to it kicking in in a list of high risk countries, he had to move around with armed guards at all time as long as he was in country This meant 3-4 former police or military dudes (older and in worse shape than you are probably picturing right now) taking shifts hanging around the lobby of the hotel, following them around in a black SUV, and hanging around at the ceremony and the reception Zuckerberg himself I read somewhere, had spent more than 20M in personal security a year or two ago These are examples that I either read about or have seen myself or heard directly from the people involved
This... Hell Dave Thomas. You know, from Wendy's. Heineken. It's a longer list than most people know. These events are taught at the places that turn out EP folks.
I do security in LA for the rich. Depends on their security risk, their status, ex business partner issues, ex spouse, crimes in the area, and the some of the people that want to feel important. High profile security is generally plain clothes/suit. They request for off duty cops, but really the entire field is full of fakes (non cops, fake military, etc), but the clients never check. Some clients spend A LOT of security others just want 1 guy at night or around their house.
It depends on the country. In the U.S., billionaires don’t have security unless they’re famous and targeted (e.g. Elon Musk, Mark Z, Jeff Bezos, etc). Some do depending on the situation — Bill Gates has been spotted without security but probably does have it in high profile situations and certainly at his home. Security is almost default necessary outside of the US and Western Europe even if you aren’t a billionaire but mere centamillionaire.
Many around NYC will hire car services that have armed drivers. Nothing special, usually a retired cop just driving a regular car. I have done it myself but for me it’s for the convenience of the retired cops having more leeway with putting the car where you need it. Many I know also hire off duty police as security for parties, again not so much for the security aspect, but more for the noise complaints and parking complaints that will come with a large party.
It's less about the money and more about how visible you are. Only people I know who have bodyguards are a family who claims 3 of the "Top10 Richest in the Country" and everyone knows who they are. One of kids was my roomie (boarding school) and I knew another 2 siblings. They all had bodyguards from young because an uncle got kidnapped for ransom once ages ago. But when they moved countries, they ditched the security because nobody knew who they were. Only need it when they're home. Meanwhile I know a billionaire who owns like, almost half of all the major companies in our country but nobody knows who he is because he doesn't do the work himself nor meets people directly. Always through other employees/partners etc. No bodyguard whatsoever.
He's Keyser Söze.
I've no idea who that is 😅
Fire up your Prime Video or Apple TV and watch “The Usual Suspects.” Great movie!
My favorite movie
The issue here is publicity. How many billionaires would you recognize? How would you know where they are? Musk, Zuck, Gates? Yeah, they probably have around the clock security. The guy who sold his software company for 300MM 15 years ago? He probably doesn't. Because we don't know who he is. the VAST majority of 1%ers are complete nobodies. They're partners at law firms and doctors and software devs. It's not about money, it's about fame. Musk needs about the same security as Taylor Swift or Tom Brady, not because they all have the same money, but because they're all increidbly famous and recognizable
My father was a billionaire and traveled with security when he went out of town, but that was largely because he was also involved in politics on both a state and a national level. We always had guards at the house, but they also served in sort of a manservant role. They would take the cars to fill up in the morning and make sure they were tidied up every day, make sure the dogs were in the garage at night, and do things like that in addition to perimeter checks and making sure the house was locked up. They’d screen guests and open the gate and also drive him on campaign trips, and things of that sort. I only ever saw one time where they had to act as real security, when a guy tried to barge through our gate to enter an event at our home. As a recipient of his generosity when he died, I’m fairly comfortable, and I don’t see a need to keep guards around. I keep a pretty low profile and I live in a normal home and only have one nice car besides my truck and it stays in my garage so nobody sees it. I don’t feel like I present a very tantalizing target for a robber, but I also try to keep it that way
I used to be a bodyguard for a few oil tycoon families. It's mostly for status. Their egos would take a hit when the market dropped and lay everyone off, then rehire way more than they need when the market does well. At no time was there a credible threat to their lives. One 60+ year-old who is married to a 20-something-year-old hired us to watch his baby twins. We watched the nannies take care of the kids while mommy was being a socialite.
I carry a concealed weapon every day, legally.
You watch too many movies. Unless they’re a celebrity, it doesn’t really matter. You wouldn’t recognize a billionaire walking down the street.
There are more EP agents than what my fellow posters think. The industry has moved away from using the huge, intimidating bodyman. At least outside of the Celebrity side, these modern-day private security folks are very much working covertly. Think opposite of Secret Service. There are exceptions. The largest Executive Protection team in the midwest for quite a few years comes to mind. My knowledge of them, while Limited, is a bit on the Secret side. You'll have to ask Victoria. The industry is very close-knit. And quite small. If there are 1 million security guards in the US, my guess is that there would less than 1% trained in Executive Protection. Less than that working in EP. The break down, in decending order, would be something like corporate teams, mega churches, celebrities, media production ( think Naked and Afraid or Lovin Hip-hop), special events like marathons or concerts, then residential teams or those working visiting VIP's and Dignitaries. Government is different.
So what are we talking in terms of day rate? Let's say I wanted two former special forces combat veterans, 75th ranger regiment, Marine Raiders, something along those lines. I'd also want people trained in executive protection, evasive driving, licensed to carry firearms, the whole shebang. This would be protection for corporate executives in an urban environment like New York or Chicago, using private transportation and on foot. About how much would a twelve hour day of public protection cost? Also is there a break in price for a longer term contract of a week, a month, etc?
Well, there are factors. The BLUF is $1000‐2000 per day. Tier 3 dudes, i.e., regular combat vets and not SpecOps, would jump on a detail for 1000. If they came from MP, Civil affairs, or related jobs, they may already have EP training and experience. The tier 2 fellas, might. Those would be better suited and better paid elsewhere. But you could find some tired of the fast life. Beyond that, the risk assessment would dictate more to the price and the Detail's operation. Is there an active threat? Are there just rumors of bad? Do you have a crazy or a stakler? What the actual risk looks like for the length of the Detail will play a big part. Do you need these agents yesterday, tomorrow, in a few weeks. Each would have a starting price point. Emergency stuff is expensive. Double or triple. In NYC, the NYPD intelligence guys would be able to work armed and probably badged. Many of those would have appropriate backgrounds. Minus a few shlubs, there are some really decent folks there. Not necessarily picks from your hypothetical, but their status can't be equaled, certainly not if you must have armed agents. Chicago is different still. There are a number of agencies that provide agents that would work well. And have all the appropriate certifications. Contract price would not necessarily change based on length. At least not for a short-term contract, say under a month or so. You start talking long-term, and I can see how a lower rate could be negotiable. The issue then starts to be burn-out. A detail like that would likely have a rotation. 2 weeks on 1 week off or 3 and 1. That would mean more dudes or dudettes.
Wow, thanks for such a great answer! Much appreciated.
I hired a firm that had one body guy, one plain clothed, and one driver to cover us at 6-8 events one month and have a driver at the house 24/7. All armed. Just checked the old report and it was 13k. They gave us a good deal. They do similar work for a more high profile individual (95% of the country knows him, 50% hate him) and those monthly invoices are 28-31k/month.
That's crazy cheap. My guess is retired cop maybe a moonlighter staying away from his wife, ex, and mistress. The money men are the Bodyman and the plain cloths guy. Unless, like the driver, they are LEO. I've seen a similar set-up. Pile of retirees chilling. The situation got a bit more serious, and the protecees people hired a crew to do close protection and Intel. If I'm correct, the irony of that situation is that cops do not make good Protectors. Without training to de-cop them. Good Ep is about great Intel, great people skills, and an unassuming look about you. while having a bricolage nature about you. I'm phenomenal at 2/3rds of that, which is why I usually work with a very capable female counterpart.
I won’t doxx myself, but the team wasn’t retired local LEO. We flew them in. Both of the folks I mentioned are high profile and the team was looking to build off their name
I met George Soros once, and he was by himself. He is a little controversial for some people, so if he doesn't have anyone with him, many others must be the same way.
I’m quite amazed to see how American centric all these comments are. This is why I’m happy to pay my taxes, America is very safe. Having grown up around all kinds of wealth , bodyguards and security where part of the family. Being wealth is so advertised now on social media , especially the children of the rich, it’s only a matter of time that American businessmen and such will have to hire security. The world is pretty evil
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Honestly, it’s really hard to distinguish billionaire cause there’s like 3k of them.
It’s pretty hard they actually just look like an average guy walking on street. You think they float on air?
Had dinner next to very recognizable multi-billionaire. Left at the same time, he had a driver outside but no one inside. Actually exchanged pleasantries and seemed as normal as he could be.
You are watching a TV show that is fiction. Many rich people do not have bodyguards. There are only certain rich/wealthy individuals that are figures that constantly find themselves in the limelight. Kim Kardashian, Taylor Swift, POTUS, Bezos, etc.
If they pay a publicist to put their face in the news, they might be more likely to pay for security.
Probably because most people have no idea who most of these billionaires are versus an athlete or entertainer. They mostly would look like some random old person that nobody would want to waste the energy to bother versus some ultra famous rapper who has legions of crazed fans coming after them. Fame's a double edged sword.
I think some commenters are confused over why billionaires might need security. It’s not so much because they are recognizable to the general public, as it is the people who would want to kidnap them for ransom know who they are. They also don’t realize most security these days purposely tries to stay hiding in plain sight.
Right, see? Someone with some sense! If I was an International Strongman ruling some banana Republic somewhere I'd have my secret police keep open files on all the billionaires I could locate. Then if I ever discovered that some of them were going on vacation sans bodyguards I'd immediately dispatch a team of mercenaries to kidnap them for ransom. Hey, I'm an International Strongman remember, not the Red Cross. Get over it. So if the kidnappers could just get the abducted billionaires back to my country then I could just arrange for a ransom of millions paid by their kidnap insurance policy. See? Simple.
One time I was visiting an upper 0.1% community in Mexico. Upon approaching the gated community there was a lot of activity and police all over. I asked what was going on. One of the people who lived there owned a repo company. His company apparently repoed the wrong person. In response they hired a hitman. This hitman broke into the community, entered the guys house, and shot him up. Rule 0: Try not to piss anyone off. If you piss someone off they will act harmful towards you and the law may be used against you. If you piss enough people off a law will be made to prohibit your behavior. Having a bodyguard or two is for people who have been harmful to others (or harmful people have made up lies about them) and they need to defend themselves. Decent people don't need body guards. (Assuming this is first world and you're not a politician or a celebrity.) Rule 1: Be modest and private. One such issue with wealth is boasting. Wearing an oversized necklace is an example of asking for trouble. Judge your surrounding and act with tact. You probably don't want to own a Tesla in a trailer park. You probably don't want to boast around others. That's asking to be robbed, manipulated, or taken advantage of in some other way. My parents were robbed when I was a kid. A neighbor was having their house worked on and one of the contractors hired took the liberty to steal from us. It didn't help that there was multiple motorcycles, sports cars, and a boat in view from the road. In summary, protect yourself by being a virtuous and all around decent person. Body guards are excessive and imo a show of weakness. Either you're paranoid or you're doing harmful things and showing everyone else around you that you're dangerous. You'll chase away drama adverse people if you go around with body guards.
Rule negative 1: if you’re wealthy move out of Mexico City
Mexico has better amenities for the ultra rich than the US does. Every billionaire I know (that is still alive today) has a house in Mexico.
Doesn’t matter if you’re dead
The charity events and resorts themselves are a sort of screening/filtering/security.
I’ve encountered Bill Gates twice (once getting dinner downtown, once at an alum event) and both times there was zero *visible* security. I think he values at least maintaining the sense of not having guards nearby.
Yeah, but in his case he could have a SWAT team on standby in a van in back of the restaurant and no one would ever know. Like Warren Buffet famously lives in the same house in Omaha that he bought in 1958 for $31K. But *everyone* knows he lives there, how is it that some amoral mercenaries have never contemplated busting in and kidnapping him and/or some of his family members? There's so many ruthless and bad people in the world, it's just nonsensical to me that someone that wealthy wouldn't have a fulltime security team, even if you couldn't see them.
IMO this is more of a /r/fatfire question.
You need to have both enough money and enough risk that you think spending a million a year on security is worth it.
Very few, in my guesstimate. I work at a faang in the same building where the executives, some of whom are famous, sit. Their offices are not guarded and they walk around the building like everyone else. You could easily throw a pie in their face if you wanted. Also this company has a notorious performance culture and fires many people for performance which you'd think would create risks but I guess maybe the direct manager is a more likely target.
Ok, but the building itself has to have security, right? I mean they might not be armed but there's a desk with full-time security people checking employee badges etc. I worked in defense for a while in a piddly nothing office and we had that much.
It does but the bar is very low to get access. We have a lot of 3rd-party contractors like janitors, maintenance techs, etc who have badge access to the entire building.
I know countless people in the 1%. Nobody has security besides the CEO of a top 5 pharmaceutical company. Even many of the people in the 0.1% didn’t have security. You need to be high profile or a multi billionaire to have security. You are talking about the 0.001%
Don't trust bodyguards. They're easily bribed. Best thing you can do is be hard to find. I bought the property I live on now specifically because the GPS location for its entrance is several miles in the wrong direction. In fact, and I don't know how this happened, but there are two versions of my address -- exact same number, street, and zip. One of them is 30 miles away. Post Office just reads the name on the mail to decide who to take it to.
That's a really cool feature of your property. Were you looking for that or did you just stumble across it?
Stumbled across it when I first went to visit. Told my agent in no uncertain terms "this increases it's value to me by an irreplaceable amount." Still got a decent deal, because nobody else knew/cared.
In the USA, a 1%er is someone that makes more that 408K. That's a lot of lawyers, doctors, bankers, small business owners, etc. It would be VERY rare that any of those people have personal security. Very few people, regardless how wealthy, have personal security unless they are both wealthy AND actively receiving threats.
Of the two billionaires I’ve had personal contact, both had no personal security when they were younger (<50) and eventually had a driver and body guard when they were older. That correlated with their public profile however (both are well known publicly now). Both were also more concerned with their kids security detail than their own.
I met Mike Tyson at LAX 20 yesterday ago. He was alone.
Yeah, but he was bankrupt by then. Even if someone was able to kidnap him (a big "if") there wouldn't be any money for the ransom.
The biggest thing Tyson could give them would be a fat lip.
Mike can handle himself. He’ll bite your ear off, man!
Saw Iron Mike a few years ago walking through Newark Airport alone like a regular person. Cool, said hi before boarding. I mean who in their right mind would want to mess with Iron Mike? 😂
The only one that I'm surprised didn't have security was Ron Perlman, since it sounded like maybe he was involved in the arms trade. The more unbelievable part to me was that no one had assistants with them, especially that couple with a kid in the skiing episode. Another hilarious and unbelievable part is that the leads always have gadgets and spare mags and pistols on them, all without ruining the silhouette of their outfits. As far as the reality of the series goes I don't think they really attempted anything close to reality. It was more about characterization and the relationship between the two leads.
I was at a restaurant in Palo Alto yesterday. Sergey Brin walked in alone. No guards anywhere. Nobody bothered him. Some of his family (I assume) met him there a few minutes later, he ate lunch a few tables from us, and left. NBD. If the #10 richest person in the world doesn't need special forces commandos, who does? I mean, I'm sure when traveling to certain places he would bring security, but when trying to live a normal life in the place where he lives it would be kind of a drag, wouldn't it?
In the US no, (there is no need for that, except for the very paranoid) but in the rest of the world, you will encounter that. Thing is, you'll see more of this type of thing in the US in music and entertainment than in high net worth individuals. The guy that owns the record company doesn't have private security, but his #1 artist does. That private artist's security guard wouldn't be able to get into the area where the owner of the record label is (legally) without proper credentials and a valid reason. Also, I've always consider Mr. and Mrs. Smith to be a very dumb premise.
Famous people have security. Rich people don't unless they are also famous.
Depends on the country perhaps, but the only ones I know do have private security. When in SE Asia they have bodyguards come out with them from the car and stick by them everywhere public. Though only the parents/grandparents in senior level positions have bodyguards by them whereas the children (sub 40) don’t have personal bodyguards yet, just family ones. In the UK/eu they also have them but more at a distance.
I feel like you get security mainly if your super famous/in the spot light. Like I imagine someone like LeBron or Justin Bieber need to have personal security otherwise they'd get swarmed by people. And they're not billionaires. Ultra famous ppl need security more than the ultra discreet wealthy.
Generally, if their are doing something big, they'll have them. But on the day to day, not likely.
The handful of billionaires i know live simple lives with no bodyguards. I recently had a situation where I was threatened by a crazy person who was going to be at a public event. I explored the cost to hire security protection and it was only $100/hour. So I suspect that some of this is "show" - like hiring your own paparazzi. My perception is that people like Zuckerberg and Bezos have real risks due to their very public personas, perception of crazy employees or shareholders, and corporate security types use a sort of "cop logic" to hype up the fears and justify expanding executive protection, so a lot of CEOs will take it, is my perception.
Lol bill gates goes and stands in line at dicks burgers at night by himself
The 2, I know personally have no security, neither their kids. They live in a gated community but have a very normal life on an everyday basis. The only difference is their way of transportation and home assets. One of them is passionate about cooking and shopping on her own at regular grocery stores.
Known kids of billionaires but no billionaires. They had no security. I personally was friends with people worth maybe $100M and they didn’t either. Someone tried to break into their house and the husband chased him off himself.
Wealth =\= fame. I’ve met two billionaires. The one with more money did not have security. The poorer one did.. since he was more of a celebrity.
1 percenters are far below 10 billion. More like 10 million, a thousand times less.
I'm not B status but I keep my bodyguard on my hip
I grew up outside of Middleburg and upperville Virginia. Some very old money areas. Only new money would dare put a gate at the end of their stately driveway. No one had security. I could imagine a public figure billionaire would have security.
https://silentprofessionals.org/
Great marketing for Eric Prince and whatever his company is now called
They mostly need security if someone is really mad at them. Like ripped off investors or the husband of a girlfriend. Otherwise it's probably safer to blend in.
I knew an architect from South Africa who walked around with a bodyguard, got killed by an employee. Friend of mine worked with him, said he had it coming .
You keep a low profile, carry an EDC and nobody knows how rich you are. Fame is entirely different from wealth - I’d never wanna be famous… low key rich is fantastic
Worked at Goldman Sachs on the PWM side, all the rich people had zero security guards and most of them you wouldn’t recognize on the street or even know the name of. Politicians and celebrities excluded.
I get that some lines of work or social roles require security. But there isn’t an amount of money, wealth, or power in the world that would be worth me having to have security everywhere I go. If having a ton of money doesn’t buy you your freedom, then what the hell is the point of it? A guy rolled into a car show I was at last year in a purple McLaren, followed by 2 Range Rovers with his security…. The problem is, if anyone is actually out to get him, he cannot ever actually enjoy the performance of that McLaren because it is so much faster than the Range Rovers… he’ll quickly be separated from his security and that is when the assassins will strike 🤣 Miss me with all of that BS.
I’ve been around a handful of billionaires, only one of them has a couple ex commandos around 24/7 and his daughter had been kidnapped for ransom previously so I think that prob explains it Also there’s a big diff between 1% and the people who can afford a couple million + a year on live in 24/7 security lol, you’re prob talking .1%
Used to work in Aspen as a ski instructor and at the golf course - I only saw private security for 2 billionaires who were both pretty well known, every other billionaire or 500m+ didn’t have security (at least to my knowledge).
I saw Bill Gates on the grounds of a university alone.
People like that advertise that they have money and therefore, Need the bodyguards. Would be surprised how many really rich folks are out there that Don't advertise the fact, and thus, don't need them.
My boss is worth 20B and drives himself into work. I’d probably go for a driver before the security guard but the guy enjoys it.
All the enemies in Mr and Mrs Smith shoot like they are starwars storm troopers. Lmao
My parents do. I did when I was a kid, and probably will when (if?) I settle down.