This Week In Blunders – Aug. 9 - 15
“Only the paranoid survive.” – Andy Grove
Luigi Mangione gave up his freedom. He took some of corporate America’s freedom with him.
The 28-year-old pleaded guilty on Friday to federal stalking-to-kill charges and admitted that he researched UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, tracked him to the company’s investor conference in Manhattan and shot him dead on a sidewalk in December 2024. Federal prosecutors are seeking a life sentence.
His impact already extends far beyond the courtroom. Thompson’s murder forced companies across America to rethink how they protect their top executives, adding bodyguards, secure transportation, home security and even travel restrictions.
For CEOs, the freedom to walk alone down a city street is all but gone. Mangione, after all, has a fan base, and the fear of copycat killings is real and ever-present.
Since Thompson’s murder:
Demand for executive protection exploded. Allied Universal, which provides security services to more than 80% of Fortune 500 companies, said requests for executive protection and security assessments increased 10 to fifteen times after the shooting.
Companies are paying more for protection. Among S&P 500 companies providing executive-security perks, the median value rose from $108,714 in 2024 to $130,468 in 2025, according to data from Equilar.
Some increases have been enormous. Edison International’s disclosed security costs, for instance, exploded from $94,276 in 2024 to more than $4.5 million in 2025, up 4,767%.
Some companies are restricting how CEOs travel. Executives are losing the freedom to travel however they want. Walmart’s board, for instance, began requiring CEO Doug McMillon to use company aircraft for both business and personal travel and authorized security services outside working hours, citing the “heightened risk environment.” Walmart continued the policy for successor John Furner in 2026.
The security perimeter now extends to home and family. Companies increasingly provide residential monitoring, drivers, private aviation and even protection for family members. Starbucks, for one, says its security program can encompass home security, personal protection, family members, private aviation and driver service. Its board ordered enhanced protection for CEO Brian Niccol after an outside assessment identified heightened concerns and “credible threat actors.”
The phenomenon has a name: “the Luigi effect.”
