The Forbes Billionaire Index shows that Meta’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, has surpassed the famed businessman Warren Buffett in terms of wealth by $7 billion.
Zuckerberg now has a net worth of $125 billion, while Buffett ranks seventh with a net worth of $118 billion.
This rise has also moved Zuckerberg ahead of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who is presently ranked sixth with a net worth of $119 billion.
The increase in Zuckerberg’s wealth can be ascribed to strong stake performance, which catapulted him from seventh to fifth place in the world wealth rankings in December.
Warren Buffett, often known as the Oracle of Omaha, amassed enormous riches through the acquisition of undervalued firms as part of his buy-and-hold investment strategy.
Buffett generously contributed $41 billion between 2006 and 2020, largely to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and nonprofits benefiting his children.
He co-founded the Giving Pledge with Bill Gates in 2010, encouraging billionaires to donate the majority of their fortune to philanthropic causes.
Despite his advanced age, Buffett remains engaged as CEO. However, he stated in 2021 that Gregory Abel, who oversees Berkshire’s non-insurance operations, is the most likely successor.
Mark Zuckerberg’s wealth surpasses that of both Buffett and Gates, signalling a significant shift in the global billionaire hierarchy and establishing a new trend in the landscape of wealth growth.
According to Forbes, Zuckerberg launched 2023 with a $64 billion valuation, marking a remarkable surge of 95.31 per cent in his net worth over the year.
The 39-year-old billionaire’s financial rise occurred despite legal hurdles concerning Facebook privacy issues and several scandals, as well as a drop in ad revenue due to the pandemic.
Despite this, Meta has shown tenacity and flexibility, rebounding and flourishing in a difficult environment.
Meta’s stock increased significantly in 2023, jumping from $125 per share at the start of the year to a high of $342 in November.
This increase in share value can be ascribed to Meta’s substantial entry into the virtual reality and augmented reality industries, as well as its continued domination over prominent social media platforms such as Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger.
Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder and CEO of Meta Platforms, began the adventure in 2004 at the age of 19 when he founded Facebook while studying computer science and psychology at Harvard University.
According to a Similarweb assessment, Meta’s Threads app, which was designed as a Twitter substitute, has seen a 60 percent reduction in active users during its initial week.
Zuckerberg went public with Meta Platforms in May 2012, and by December 2016, he was ranked tenth on Forbes’ list of The World’s Most Powerful People.
Currently, Zuckerberg owns around 13% of the company’s equity, strengthening his influence in the ever-changing environment of social media and technology.
