Mark Zuckerberg Surpasses Jeff Bezos to Become World’s Second-Richest Person as Meta Shares Surge
Mark Zuckerberg became the world’s second-richest person for the first time on Thursday, overtaking Jeff Bezos as shares of Meta Platforms Inc. continue to rise.
Zuckerberg’s investment in the metaverse, initially seen as a risky venture, has proven successful in recent months, pushing his net worth to $206.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This puts him $1.1 billion ahead of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and just under $50 billion behind Tesla’s Elon Musk.
Meta’s stock has surged 23% since reporting stronger-than-expected second-quarter sales and highlighting its advancements in large language models that drive AI chatbots. The stock closed at a record high of $582.77 on Thursday.
Meta has invested heavily in data centers and computing infrastructure as Zuckerberg positions the company to lead in the AI industry. The company has also continued with other long-term projects, such as its Orion augmented reality glasses, introduced last month.
Zuckerberg, who holds a 13% stake in Meta, has seen his fortune grow by $78 billion this year—more than any of the 500 richest people tracked by Bloomberg. The 40-year-old CEO has climbed four spots on the wealth index this year.
Source: Bloomberg
