Mark Zuckerberg’s Wealth Soars by $28 Billion as Meta Stock Surges
Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Facebook, experienced a remarkable resurgence in his wealth, with a staggering increase of $28.1 billion. This surge came after Meta’s quarterly results surpassed Wall Street’s expectations, causing the company’s shares to rise by approximately 20%. As a result, Zuckerberg’s net worth reached an all-time high of $170.5 billion, propelling him past Bill Gates to claim the fourth position on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
This remarkable comeback in Zuckerberg’s wealth comes after a challenging period when his net worth dipped below $35 billion in late 2022 due to the collapse of tech stocks amid inflation concerns and interest rate hikes. However, 2023 witnessed a remarkable rebound for Zuckerberg as his wealth soared once again.
The positive quarterly results not only benefit Zuckerberg financially, but they also open new avenues for him. Meta recently announced its intention to offer its first-ever dividend to investors, which will result in Zuckerberg receiving an estimated yearly payout of about $700 million. With his ownership of approximately 350 million shares, each quarterly dividend payment before taxes could amount to around $175 million.
This move by Meta to introduce dividends reflects the company’s confidence in its growth potential. While many rapidly expanding tech companies typically prioritize using earnings for product development or acquisitions instead of dividends, Meta’s decision signifies its belief in sustained growth. Despite investing heavily in artificial intelligence initiatives, Meta faces regulatory obstacles in its acquisition efforts.
Following layoffs of around 21,000 employees and a narrowed focus on key priorities, Meta’s stock nearly tripled in value during 2023. The introduction of dividends and an additional $50 billion allocated for share buybacks may further instill patience among investors regarding Zuckerberg’s long-term bets on artificial intelligence and the metaverse.
In 2022, Zuckerberg had a total compensation of $27.1 million, which included private security expenses, and a symbolic base salary of $1, as reported in filings. However, executive compensation for last year has yet to be disclosed by Meta.
A spokesperson for Meta declined to provide any comments regarding these recent developments.
Disclaimer: Only the headline and content of this report may have been reworked by Newsearay, staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed. The Article was originally published on Source link
