Billionaire List: Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook’s parent company Meta Platforms, has become the second richest person in the world, overtaking Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Zuckerberg’s net worth has grown to $206 billion, driven by Meta’s stellar performance and investors’ strong confidence in the company’s ambitious developments in AI and AR. Figures are from Bloomberg Billionaires.
Zuckerberg beats everyone in earnings this year
Meta CEO has left everyone behind in terms of earnings so far this year. However, Tesla’s Elon Musk is still crowned the world’s richest person, with a net worth of $256.2 billion. Zuckerberg’s wealth has increased dramatically as Meta’s share price surged 23% following better-than-expected second-quarter results. Shares of the tech giant recently touched an all-time high of $582.77.
Also read: Turmoil in the list of billionaires, Adani-Ambani’s wealth and status both decreased.
Zuckerberg’s net worth primarily comes from his 13% stake in Meta, worth about 345.5 million shares. Zuckerberg’s rapid rise has also put him ahead of other tech giants like Oracle’s Larry Ellison and former Microsoft CEOs Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer.
Zuckerberg was hit by more than 100 billion dollars in 2022
Their initial heavy investment in the metaverse resulted in a loss of over $100 billion from their net worth in 2022, casting doubt on the long-term strategy of the meta. However, Zuckerberg has since made a notable change, refocusing the meta on AI innovation. The company is investing heavily in data centers and cutting-edge technologies, aiming to become a leader in the global AI race. Its flagship AI assistant, Meta AI, is expected to become the world’s most widely used, with approximately 500 million monthly active users.
The company’s forward momentum includes ventures into AR with projects like Meta’s Orion augmented reality glasses. These were introduced last month. These efforts are establishing Meta as a major player in both the metaverse and AI fields as a social media platform.
