Celebrity Security: How Much Does It Cost To Keep A-Listers Safe?
Celebrity security is something we all might have wondered about at some point. People stalk them, the paparazzi are always on their backs, and these A-listers are usually wielding expensive accessories and trinkets. How do they keep safe? And how much does it cost to keep these celebs safe?
Keeping Up With a Kardashian-Sized Security Budget
For Kim Kardashian, a security detail is part of her regular daily routine as much as an elaborate beauty routine. However, the reality show star wasn’t always at the forefront of security trends. It wasn’t until the thirteenth season of Keeping Up With the Kardashians that Kim increased her personal security.
What spurred the change? She experienced a terrifying armed robbery in Paris. Until the robbery, Kim used to share one bodyguard with her sisters. Now, she’s upped her personal safety budget.
For obvious reasons, info about Kim’s security is private. But security specialist Aaron Cohen gave Vanity Fair a rundown of celebrity security scenarios. Having worked for the likes of “Brangelina” and Katy Perry, Cohen is familiar with what Hollywood celebs budget to achieve high-level private security.
For a residence needing 24-hour security, the cost can start at around $1.5 million per year. That includes a surveillance room in the house, which keeps tabs on the property and the streets leading up to it. There is also a guard stationed at the house around the clock. For clients who employ at least two guards (as all of Cohen’s clients do), the cost goes up to $2.5 or $3 million per year.
An A-list client like Kardashian would likely employ a 24-hour traveling security detail to protect her at all times. That, Cohen explains, would be between $700k to $1 million per year for rotating security agents.
Social Media, Stalkers, and Paparazzi… Oh My!
Kim Kardashian relies heavily on using social media as part of her personal brand, often posting her exact location. In the age of social media, savvy stalkers can track a star’s location through public posts. For such a high-profile presence, Cohen suggests throwing off would-be attacks by including incorrect information on posts. (That’s good advice for non-celebs, too.)
In case stalkers do locate a star’s private retreat, scaling up security is still a smart course of action. After all, you can’t fool all the crazed fans and photographers. Celebrity security requires a multi-layered approach.
Sandra Bullock’s Stalker
In 2014, a stalker entered Sandra Bullock’s home, right after her bodyguard had dropped her off from an event that evening. The stalker walked through an inadvertently unlocked door and made it all the way to Bullock’s bedroom door, where she came face-to-face with him. The transcript of her 911 call as reported by CBS news is terrifying: “I’m locked in my closet. I have a safe door in my bedroom, and I’ve locked it, and I’m locked in the closet right now.” Bullock stayed on the line for 16 minutes until the police arrived.
A safe room door like the one which protected Bullock runs between $1,000 and $2,000. It’s basically engineered like a bank vault door. Would a higher level of security have stopped the stalker from entering? It’s tough to tell. A bank vault door is certainly better than nothing.
Since stalking is a common concern for celebrity security, it’s easy to see the reasoning behind 24-hour bodyguards. Bullock took out an additional restraining order after her assailant was off probation.
How Celebrity Security Experts Deal with Paparazzi
Paparazzi are annoying but much less harmful than stalkers. For the most part. Stars can leverage them for their brand, but they have to sacrifice a lot of privacy. And having little privacy feels the same as having little security.
Cohen uses an interesting technique to keep tabs on the paparazzi. He reportedly sends a guard into the paparazzi pit, dressed like one of them. The guard collects close-up photos and sound bytes. That way, he knows what his client is dealing with.
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