How Mark Zuckerberg became the world's second-richest person
Mark Zuckerberg has just become the world's second-richest person for the first time in history, and he may be on his way to the top.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta.
The Meta CEO surpassed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos by $1 billion to enter second place on Thursday, with a net worth of $206 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index. He now trails only Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has a net worth of $256 billion.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Zuckerberg's wealth is primarily connected to his 13% share in Meta, and it has increased by around $78 billion this year alone due to stock gains. That is more than any other billionaire on the list, including Jensen Huang, CEO of the hot chipmaker Nvidia.
Meta shares have surged this year, ending at a record high of $582.77 on Thursday. On Friday, the stock traded even higher at $590, up roughly 70% year to date.
Meta's stock jumped in February after the company announced its first quarterly dividend and a $50 billion stock buyback, which satisfied investors. Since then, Meta's stock has risen on the back of higher-than-expected second-quarter sales and the company's push into artificial intelligence.
After investing billions in Zuckerberg's metaverse vision, the company's Reality Labs subsidiary lost less money than predicted in the second quarter. The division has also been instructed to cut its spending by 20%, most of which will apparently occur this year. Those cuts, combined with an unanticipated boost from the company's announcement of soon-to-be released augmented reality glasses, dubbed Orion, that contain the company's AI, have propelled the company's stock even higher as investors appreciate its ingenuity.
Over the last three years, Zuckerberg's push for efficiency and flattening of the company's corporate structure has boosted the stock.
While the difference between Musk and Zuckerberg appears to be large, tech fortunes can fluctuate dramatically, and it is not impossible for the two to swap places in the future. As of June, Musk's net worth was lower than Zuckerberg's. For years, the Tesla CEO has been in and out of the top slot, vying with billionaire rivals like as Jeff Bezos and Bernard Arnault of LVMH.
Tesla's price has recovered from earlier this year's volatility, increasing Musk's fortune, much of which is related to his investment in the company. Tesla shares are now around two times higher than the 52-week low seen in April. Musk's wealth was also increased after Tesla shareholders accepted the reinstatement of the CEO's $45 billion pay plan in June.
While Musk and Zuckerberg battle for the title of richest person, their feud has recently gained public attention. Musk challenged mixed martial arts enthusiast Zuckerberg to a cage battle in a post on X last year. Zuckerberg agreed and was eager to arrange up the event before Musk bailed.
"If Elon ever gets serious about a real date and official event, he knows how to reach me," he said in a post on his X-like website, Threads.
