Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth has less than halved over the last year. In September 2021, Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth was estimated at an impressive $140 billion. As he attempted to transform the company to focus on the metaverse strategy, Meta’s stock prices tumbled and Zuckerberg lost over $100 billion — more than Warren Buffet’s net worth — in a year!
What is Mark Zuckerberg’s Net Worth?
Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth is an estimated $44.5 billion according to Forbes real-time billionaire. He owns a 13% stake in Meta, which accounts for the most significant portion of Mark’s total wealth.
Mark’s journey to being the world’s youngest billionaire wasn’t easy. From dropping out to fighting lawsuits, Mark has had to make tough decisions to build and protect his net worth.
As you might’ve heard, Mark started working on Facebook while studying at Harvard. His passion for building a social media network led him to drop out during his sophomore year.
Soon after, he faced his first lawsuit in 2006. The makers of Harvard Connection, a website Mark worked on when he was at Harvard, contended that Mark stole their idea. The lawsuit ended with a $65 million settlement with the plaintiffs Divya Narendra and brothers Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.
Unfortunately for Mark, more lawsuits awaited him. In 2016, he came under the regulator’s radar for the spread of fake news on Facebook. The following year, Mark lost a ton of money because of the Facebook-Cambridge Analytics data breach.
Early Life and Education
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg was born in White Plains, New York, U.S., on May 14, 1984, to Karen and Edward Zuckerberg. He completed his schooling at Ardsley High School and transferred to Phillips Exeter Academy in 2002.
He always had a knack for programming. As a young lad in a middle school passionate about programming, Mark created a computer program that helped the computers at his father’s clinic and his house communicate. Mark also built Synapse Media Player in high school, which used machine learning to learn a user’s music preferences.
Zuckerberg enrolled in Harvard in 2002. He studied psychology and computer science at Harvard, but his time at Harvard was brief.
Mark launched thefacebook.com on February 4, 2004, which was later renamed Facebook in 2005. The website quickly became popular among Harvard students, and soon, the word spread to other colleges.
Mark moved to Palo Alto, California, in 2004, where he met Peter Thiel and got him to invest $500,000 in the company. A year later, in May 2005, Facebook received its first major venture capital funding worth $12.7 million from Accel alongside other investors like Venky Harinarayan and Anand Rajaraman.
Philanthropy
Mark Zuckerberg is also a philanthropist — a lesser-known side of him. He has made various contributions to society since he became a billionaire.
$100 million to the Newark Public School System
Mark donated $100 million to the Newark Public School system in 2010. Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, signed “The Giving Pledge,” a promise to give away at least 50% of their wealth to charity throughout their lives.
$990 Million to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Zuckerberg also made the most generous donation on public record for 2013 to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. He donated 18 million Facebook shares worth $990 million at the time.
$25 Million to Fight Ebola
In 2014, Mark and Priscilla donated $25 million to fight the Ebola epidemic through contributions made to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. The funds were used in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leona for training, equipment, transportation, and contact tracing, among other things.
The Giving Pledge
In 2015, Mark and his wife released a long letter they wrote to their daughter. The letter outlined their pledge to donate 99% of their Facebook shares to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative over their lifetime. The couple has great plans for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, as they talk about in their interview with CBS Mornings:
$600 Million for the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative donated $600 million in 2016 to create a tax-exempt charitable institution called the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub. The organization, located in San Francisco's Bay Area, collaborates with leading academic institutions, including University of California and Stanford University, for collaborative research on infectious disease and quantitative cell science.
$25 Million for the COVID-19 Pandemic
At the start of the pandemic, Zuckerberg donated $25 million during the COVID-19 pandemic to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for Therapeutics Accelerator.
Personal Life
Mark’s parents were professionals and a happy couple. His mother, Karen, was a psychiatrist, and his father, Edward Zuckerberg, was a dentist. Zuckerberg has three sisters: Randi Zuckerberg, Donna Zuckerberg, and Arielle Zuckerberg.
Mark met the love of his life, Priscilla, waiting in line for the bathroom. Mark’s fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi, was hosting a party at Harvard University in 2003, where he met Priscilla Chan, a sophomore student at the time.
Chan and Zuckerberg dated for seven years before Chan moved in with Mark at his Palo Alto residence in 2010. Two years later, the couple tied the knot in Mark’s Palo Alto mansion the day after Facebook’s IPO in 2012. The guests were invited to what was supposed to be a party for Chan’s graduation from medical school, which turned out to be their wedding.
The couple adopted a Puli dog named Beast in 2011. Beast has over 2.4 million Facebook followers, making him one of the most popular dogs on the internet.
Chan had three miscarriages before their first daughter, Maxima, was born on December 1, 2015. The couple also announced their first daughter’s Chinese name, Chen Mingyu, in a Chinese New Year video:
Their second daughter, August, was born in August 2017, shortly after he graduated from Harvard. In September 2022, the couple announced they were expecting their third daughter in 2023.
FAQs
How much is Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth?
Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth is an estimated $44.5 billion according to Forbes. His net worth has dropped by more than half over the last year thanks to a decline in profits and revenue. Moreover, Meta had lost $9.4 billion by September 2022 trying to build the metaverse.
How did Mark Zuckerberg get his wealth?
Most of Mark Zuckerberg’s wealth comes from his shares in Meta Platforms and other personal investments in assets like real estate. For example, he recently sold his San Francisco residence, which he purchased for $10 million in November 2012, for $31 million. His annual salary, though, is just $1.
What are some of Mark Zuckerberg’s major investments?
Mark’s personal investments include expensive properties across the country. The billionaire owns properties in Silicon Valley, Lake Tahoe, and Hawaii. However, more details about his personal investments aren’t available publicly.
What are Mark Zuckerberg’s major philanthropic causes?
Here are the major philanthropic causes Mark Zuckerberg supports:
- Education: Donated $100 million to Newark Public School System, $120 million to Startup:Education, and about $1 billion to Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
- Health: $75 million to San Francisco General Hospital, $25 million to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (for Ebola), $5 million to Ravenswood Family Health Center, and $25 million to Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
- Internet Access: $23 million to EducationSuperHighway.
How has Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth changed over time?
Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth has changed significantly over the past few years. The Meta stock’s price has been in free fall over the past year, wiping $100 billion of Mark’s wealth, which is now down to an estimated $44.5 billion. From being the third-richest person in the world trailing behind the likes of Steve Ballmer and Larry Ellison, Mark is down to spot 25 on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
What would happen to Mark Zuckerberg's net worth if he sold all of his shares in Facebook?
Selling all Facebook shares won’t fetch Mark Zuckerberg his stake’s estimated value. Selling millions of shares causes excess supply, pushing the price downward. Moreover, the company’s founder selling his entire stake can undermine investor confidence, causing the stock’s price to fall significantly.
Takeaway
Mark Zuckerberg’s success is largely driven by passion. More than the moolah, Mark was motivated by innovating a modern way to connect with your social group. A project that started in a dorm room is now a multi-billion dollar empire that put Mark on the Forbes Billionaires list.
Mark’s journey is inspiring for entrepreneurs across the globe and a testament that a great idea combined with perseverance is destined to succeed. Most entrepreneurs struggle with ideas, connections, and capital, but that’s what we’re here for.
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