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One thing I have idly wondered is how much do the ultra rich protect themselves from theft or kidnapping. Is it just not a real concern? If Taylor Swift owns a

One thing I have idly wondered is how much do the ultra rich protect themselves from theft or kidnapping. Is it just not a real concern? If Taylor Swift owns a dozen homes, does she have full time security guards at each one? Or just accept some amount of burglary may occur? Do they go everywhere with a guard? Only to public events?

ciupicri 6mo ago
> accept some amount of burglary may occur? From https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/13/entertainment/kim-kardashian-paris-burglary-trial-intl https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/13/entertainment/kim-kardash... > Kim Kardashian, testifying in the trial of the burglars accused of tying her up and robbing her at gunpoint nearly nine years ago, told a Paris court on Tuesday that she “absolutely thought” her assailants would kill her. > “I have babies, I have to make it home, I have babies,” Kardashian recalled pleading with the armed men, who had broken into her hotel room while she slept during Paris Fashion Week in 2016. > Facing her alleged attackers for the first time since the heist, the billionaire reality TV star detailed how she was robbed of nearly $10 million in cash and jewelry, including a $4 million engagement ring – gifted to her by her then-husband Kanye West – that was never recovered.
bombcar 6mo ago
It varies and they don't talk about it (obviously) but you can glean things from various sources. The more "public" the ultra rich are, the more they'll have security, especially noticeable security. The silent or unknown ones will often still have something (usually a requirement of their or their company's insurance). Once you graduate from "2, 3, 5 houses" to "mansions" you will have staff at each one, even if relatively bare-bones.
- 2dfs 6mo ago
  Yeah but theyre useless if a large organised group shows up.
  - sleepybrett 6mo ago
    hell they will probably join the mob instantly.
  - randyrand 6mo ago
    No they’re not.
    - snypher 6mo ago
      The Bling Ring were successful in their crimes for a little while and obviously Mr Security Team didn't stop them. They got caught via the oldest tale in time; a rat on the ship.
      - deleted 6mo ago
        [deleted]
    - casey2 6mo ago
      Yes they are. they always have been. The Praetorian guard killed the Emperor and auctioned Rome off, the winner was killed 66 days later due to one of the 3 army's marching on Rome due to the auction. The bidding was just 2 guys one of which (the emperor to be) had to yell their bids from outside the wall of the praetorian guard camp. The army didn't even have to fight, just their presence was enough to get the Senate to execute the new Emperor. The pattern is always the same rich people destabilize countries due to their greed and fear, but they cope that it won't affect them. Like they can somehow hedge against the collapse of society by hiring a few guards and building a bunker. Money that could stabilize society instead gets spent on bunkers, guards and art galleries.
      - lukewarm707 6mo ago
        tyrants and crooks can survive in the moment but can rarely hold a general rebellion. they can either flee or get pulled apart by the mob. boots eventually tread the marble floors and empty halls. the new reich chancellery, the people's palace of syria, al faw, to name a few. "You may hand us over to the executioner, but in three months time, the disgusted and harried people will bring you to book and drag you alive through the dirt in the streets." - General Erwin von Witzleben it applies less to the oligarchy, all the same the good times probably do not roll on forever for regime cronies
strongpigeon 6mo ago
I once knew a guy that used to be head of physical security for Bill Gates. He has body guards with him all the time and a sizable security team at his home in Medina. You wouldn't believe the amount of lunatics that show up at his home unannounced and claim he promised them money (or are a relative of him somehow).
- lamasery 6mo ago
  Well look they forwarded his email ten times as requested so it seems pretty clear that he does owe them money.
- sleepybrett 6mo ago
  i once did a little project for the home in medina, i never went on site but i did visit the office of his property management company. Dozens of people for managing the properties and on-site staff for each as well as, i think, bgc3 but not the b&mgf. To hear tell from my coworkers that did go on site the security was insane, the media apparatus was insane (like a dvr for every channel running 24x7 so the family could call up whatever, wherever they were at any time). This is back in like 2010ish, before the marriage blew up.
hnthrowaway0315 6mo ago
For a start, they have bodyguards and rarely go into public without the right protection. They also went through a huge amount putting up security and cybersecurity (like I know one who sets up so many hops between endpoints that Microsoft banned his account). Even most of their employees don't know where they are and where they plan to be, unless they choose to do so. Ofc I guess there is always a way to probe, but people who do random killing rarely has the skills/mental to do that.
keeda 6mo ago
Once in a while we get to see concrete numbers for some of them, e.g. Meta spent $27M+ in one year on Zuck's security, which is way more than the other CEOs: https://fortune.com/2025/08/16/mark-zuckerberg-meta-security-detail-costs-apple-nvidia-microsoft-amazon-alphabet-ceos/ https://fortune.com/2025/08/16/mark-zuckerberg-meta-security...

ciupicri 6mo ago

> accept some amount of burglary may occur? From https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/13/entertainment/kim-kardashian-paris-burglary-trial-intl https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/13/entertainment/kim-kardash... > Kim Kardashian, testifying in the trial of the burglars accused of tying her up and robbing her at gunpoint nearly nine years ago, told a Paris court on Tuesday that she “absolutely thought” her assailants would kill her. > “I have babies, I have to make it home, I have babies,” Kardashian recalled pleading with the armed men, who had broken into her hotel room while she slept during Paris Fashion Week in 2016. > Facing her alleged attackers for the first time since the heist, the billionaire reality TV star detailed how she was robbed of nearly $10 million in cash and jewelry, including a $4 million engagement ring – gifted to her by her then-husband Kanye West – that was never recovered.

bombcar 6mo ago

It varies and they don't talk about it (obviously) but you can glean things from various sources. The more "public" the ultra rich are, the more they'll have security, especially noticeable security. The silent or unknown ones will often still have something (usually a requirement of their or their company's insurance). Once you graduate from "2, 3, 5 houses" to "mansions" you will have staff at each one, even if relatively bare-bones.

2dfs 6mo ago
Yeah but theyre useless if a large organised group shows up.
- sleepybrett 6mo ago
  hell they will probably join the mob instantly.
- randyrand 6mo ago
  No they’re not.
  - snypher 6mo ago
    The Bling Ring were successful in their crimes for a little while and obviously Mr Security Team didn't stop them. They got caught via the oldest tale in time; a rat on the ship.
    - deleted 6mo ago
      [deleted]
  - casey2 6mo ago
    Yes they are. they always have been. The Praetorian guard killed the Emperor and auctioned Rome off, the winner was killed 66 days later due to one of the 3 army's marching on Rome due to the auction. The bidding was just 2 guys one of which (the emperor to be) had to yell their bids from outside the wall of the praetorian guard camp. The army didn't even have to fight, just their presence was enough to get the Senate to execute the new Emperor. The pattern is always the same rich people destabilize countries due to their greed and fear, but they cope that it won't affect them. Like they can somehow hedge against the collapse of society by hiring a few guards and building a bunker. Money that could stabilize society instead gets spent on bunkers, guards and art galleries.
    - lukewarm707 6mo ago
      tyrants and crooks can survive in the moment but can rarely hold a general rebellion. they can either flee or get pulled apart by the mob. boots eventually tread the marble floors and empty halls. the new reich chancellery, the people's palace of syria, al faw, to name a few. "You may hand us over to the executioner, but in three months time, the disgusted and harried people will bring you to book and drag you alive through the dirt in the streets." - General Erwin von Witzleben it applies less to the oligarchy, all the same the good times probably do not roll on forever for regime cronies

strongpigeon 6mo ago

I once knew a guy that used to be head of physical security for Bill Gates. He has body guards with him all the time and a sizable security team at his home in Medina. You wouldn't believe the amount of lunatics that show up at his home unannounced and claim he promised them money (or are a relative of him somehow).

lamasery 6mo ago
Well look they forwarded his email ten times as requested so it seems pretty clear that he does owe them money.
sleepybrett 6mo ago
i once did a little project for the home in medina, i never went on site but i did visit the office of his property management company. Dozens of people for managing the properties and on-site staff for each as well as, i think, bgc3 but not the b&mgf. To hear tell from my coworkers that did go on site the security was insane, the media apparatus was insane (like a dvr for every channel running 24x7 so the family could call up whatever, wherever they were at any time). This is back in like 2010ish, before the marriage blew up.

hnthrowaway0315 6mo ago

For a start, they have bodyguards and rarely go into public without the right protection. They also went through a huge amount putting up security and cybersecurity (like I know one who sets up so many hops between endpoints that Microsoft banned his account). Even most of their employees don't know where they are and where they plan to be, unless they choose to do so. Ofc I guess there is always a way to probe, but people who do random killing rarely has the skills/mental to do that.

keeda 6mo ago

Once in a while we get to see concrete numbers for some of them, e.g. Meta spent $27M+ in one year on Zuck's security, which is way more than the other CEOs: https://fortune.com/2025/08/16/mark-zuckerberg-meta-security-detail-costs-apple-nvidia-microsoft-amazon-alphabet-ceos/ https://fortune.com/2025/08/16/mark-zuckerberg-meta-security...